Liverpool head into the clash having lost five of their last six league ties, whilst Arsenal are cruising at the top of the league, four points clear. Now, things have gone from bad to worse as their £116M signing Wirtz is ruled out.
This was confirmed by manager Arne Slot in his Friday press conference in what is a crushing blow for the side whose title hopes are dwindling.
“We do have some issues after the international break.
“Conor Bradley is not able to play and Florian Wirtz is unable to play. That’s far from ideal.”
“Both are muscle issues. I don’t expect Conor to be part of the upcoming 22 days, maybe at the end, unless a miracle happens, which I don’t expect.
“Florian shouldn’t be that long.”
Wirtz grabbed two assists for Leroy Sane as he pulled the strings for Germany over the international break as he showed fans why the Reds splashed the cash on him this summer.
Liverpool have lost five of their 11 games so far this term, which is already more than last time out. Now, with Wirtz and Bradley on the sidelines Slot has to be very careful against Forest as one more slip up and their title hopes may be over.
However, one boost for Liverpool is that goalkeeper Alisson Becker should return to the pitch as Slot confirmed:
“Alisson trained last week and this week, so he will be able to play tomorrow if things work out well again today (Friday).”