Liverpool confirm key selection blow for Fulham clash after Everton postponement

Liverpool will be without Alexis Mac Allister for their next Premier League match against Fulham, the club have confirmed.

The Argentine was suspended for Saturday’s lunchtime Merseyside derby against Everton after picking up his fifth yellow card of the top-flight season with a challenge on Fabian Schar during the midweek six-goal thriller against Newcastle at St James’ Park.

That game at Goodison Park ended up being postponed on Saturday morning on safety grounds due to the effects of Storm Darragh, which have brought extreme winds and rain to parts of the UK and caused a flurry of cancellations across the sporting calendar in football and beyond.

Any confusion among fans as to where that leaves Mac Allister’s suspension has been quickly cleared up by Liverpool, who have confirmed that their No10 will now miss next weekend’s visit of Fulham to Anfield in the top-flight instead.

He was already banned for Tuesday night’s away clash with Spanish side Girona in the Champions League, having received a third yellow card of the league phase in the 2-0 home win over Real Madrid last week - a game in which he opened the scoring in the second half - to incur another automatic one-match suspension.

Mac Allister will next be available to play for Liverpool in their Carabao Cup quarter-final showdown with Southampton at St Mary’s on December 18, a game which is followed by Premier League meetings against Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham over the festive period. The leaders face fierce rivals Manchester United in their first match of 2025 at Anfield.

After sitting out the Girona game, the former Brighton star will be back in Champions League contention for table-topping Liverpool when they contest their penultimate fixture of the new league phase at home to French club Lille on January 21.

World Cup winner Mac Allister has become an influential figure for Liverpool since joining from Brighton in a £35million deal in the summer of 2023, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in 67 total appearances across all competitions. This season, he has appeared 21 times for the club so far, scoring twice.

The postponement of the Merseyside derby means Liverpool have one game less to manage without the trio of Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa, all of whom are close to returning after injury and expected back by manager Arne Slot soon. However, defenders Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas all remain sidelined.