Arne Slot confirms three key Liverpool absences for crucial Arsenal showdown

Diogo Jota will miss Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal on Sunday with admitting Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa are also set to be absent.

Jota had to come off when he was injured in win over last Sunday and Reds head coach Slot says the Portugal striker is still sidelined. Darwin Nunez will continue in the No 9 role for and Slot said Chiesa and Bradley are also struggling to make the trip to the Emirates.

“I think they feel good, but not when it comes to playing for us at the weekend,” said Slot when asked about the trio’s fitness. "Federico might train with us today or tomorrow, but Diogo definitely not and Conor Bradley, let’s see if he can be with us tomorrow.”

Slot also claimed Alisson is progressing well as he recovers from his hamstring injury, but says he will not return soon. The Brazil goalkeeper is not expected to come back until after next month’s international break and Slot says it is too early to judge his recovery.

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“He’s progressing well, like we expect, but it’s not a short-term recovery so it’s always difficult to judge him,” he said. "I think the best way to judge an injury is at the end phase of his recovery and he’s not there yet.

“So I can’t tell you how long he will be out, but don’t expect him to be in against in the cup of next week.”

Slot expects to provide Liverpool’s toughest challenge yet after they came through their stuff examination by Chelsea. “I said before the game and after the game that I expect a lot from Chelsea this season and I think they showed it last Sunday at Anfield,” he said.

“They are a similar team as Arsenal when it comes to playing style. They also like to go with their full-back inside and have the same formation as Arsenal. If you look at the last two seasons, Arsenal were far ahead of us, but also above Chelsea.

“So you would assume playing Arsenal will be more even difficult, but let’s see at the end of the season where Chelsea and Arsenal are. Normally you would, especially because it’s an away game, that it is even more difficult than Chelsea at home and we all saw how difficult Chelsea was.”

Liverpool took just three points from their four games against Arsenal and as they fell away in the title race and Slot agrees that they are pivotal games.

“We all know that taking points from your competitor, and we all know Arsenal will be one of them, and dropping points or winning points is always important,” he said.

“So you’re right and I think it was three draws and one loss last season, so if Liverpool could have won all three of them, the league table would have been a bit different.”

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