A depleted Liverpool side will be looking to avoid a huge FA Cup shock when they host Shrewsbury this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp’s side has been severely impacted by Covid, injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations meaning they will have to send out a young, makeshift side against the Shrews.
Liverpool host Shrewsbury in the FA Cup third round this weekend
The Reds drew 2-2 at Chelsea last Sunday and are without a win since December 16.
Steve Cotterill’s Shrewsbury will be hoping to take advantage of that and pull off a massive surprise in the third round tie.
They are currently 14th in League One and beat Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
Liverpool v Shrewsbury: talkSPORT commentary
This FA Cup clash will take place on Sunday, January 9.
It will be held at Anfield and will kick off at 2pm.
This game will be live on talkSPORT with coverage starting at 1pm.
Adrian Durham will be your host and commentary will come from Joe Shennan and former England defender Micky Gray.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2, click HERE for the live stream.
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FA Cup third round on talkSPORT
FRIDAY 7th JANUARY
- Swindon v Manchester City – 20:00 – talkSPORT
SATURDAY 8th JANUARY
- Millwall v Crystal Palace – 12:45 – talkSPORT
- Port Vale v Brentford – 15:00 – talkSPORT 2
- Chelsea v Chesterfield – 17:30 – talkSPORT
- Hull v Everton – 17:30 – talkSPORT 2
SUNDAY 9th JANUARY
- Liverpool v Shrewsbury – 14:00 – talkSPORT
- Tottenham v Morecambe – 14:00 – talkSPORT 2
- Nottingham Forest v Arsenal – 17:10 – talkSPORT
MONDAY 10th JANUARY
- Manchester United v Aston Villa – 19:55 – talkSPORT EXCLUSIVE
Liverpool v Shrewsbury: Team news
A Covid-19 outbreak which caused the shut-down of first-team training for 48 hours will impact the side Liverpool put out at home to Shrewsbury.
It was likely a number of fringe players would have featured regardless but with only the academy sides able to train over the last couple of days, the reliance on youngsters is likely to be greater.
That means the likes of Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton, Owen Beck, Kaide Gordon, Max Woltman and Harvey Blair will come into consideration, providing they are not affected by Covid.
Thiago Alcantara and Divock Origi have been out for a couple of weeks and are unlikely to be risked but Takumi Minamino could come back after injury.
Shrewsbury’s Daniel Udoh will be given until the last moment to prove his fitness.
The nine-goal striker limped out of last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
Fellow forward Tom Bloxham returns from a three-match suspension.
On-loan players Sam Cosgrove and Khanya Leshabela are available while newest temporary addition Saikou Janneh, from Bristol City, could make his debut.
Klopp has repeatedly complained about scheduling and has now been hit by the virus tooGetty
Liverpool v Shrewsbury: What has been said?
Shrewsbury manager Steve Cotterill: “I’m looking forward to it.
“We’ve wanted to get a big draw ever since the draw was made for the first round and that’s what you sell to the players.
“We’ve got probably one of the best football clubs in the world and one of the best stadiums to go to and play your football in front of the best sets of fans.
“It will be an incredible atmosphere – certainly for those who haven’t been to Anfield – it’s a great place to go and when they start singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, if that doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up then they never will.
“We can all think about what team we’re going to play against and none of us will get it right, the only person who will know is Jurgen Klopp and his staff.
“He’s entitled to play whichever team he sees fit and they will get absolutely the full respect, whether it ends up being the first-team player or one of their younger lads who they bring into the game.
“If you’re signed for Liverpool, you’re going to be a good player so whatever team they play, they will get 100% respect from us.”
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