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Liverpool are getting ready for their first competitive match since mid-November when play stopped for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
They will be taking on Manchester City on Thursday night in the Carabao Cup, battling for a place in the quarter-finals of a tournament that has already seen some big sides being eliminated.
Team news is very unpredictable right now for club matches as players return from the World Cup at different times and in varying levels of fitness. One player that Liverpool fans will want to see among the goals is Darwin Nunez.
The good news for Liverpool fans is that Darwin Nunez is expected to be in the squad for the match against Manchester City as he is no longer on holiday following the World Cup.
It seems unlikely that he will start the game though, with Jurgen Klopp expected to start with Roberto Firmino as the main forward. The Brazilian did not go to the World Cup which means that he has been able to prepare for the game much more than Nunez.
The widely predicted starting lineup for Liverpool does not feature any players that were at the World Cup, meaning the group should be very well prepared for the match.
Liverpool predicted starting 11 (4-3-3): Kelleher; Ramsay, Gomez, Matip, Tsimikas; Milner, Bajcetic, Elliott; Salah, Firmino, Carvalho.
Bench: Adrian, Davies, Phillips, Quansah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita, Thiago, Nunez.
The Liverpool management could have been tempted to put Nunez straight into the starting lineup if he had the potential to carry some form from the World Cup into this game, but it was a very disappointing tournament for both Nunez and Uruguay.
Uruguay were knocked out in the group stage despite being a contender to reach at least the quarter-final stage. Nunez did not manage to score a goal despite starting all three of the group games against South Korea, Portugal and Ghana.
The whole team only scored twice in the group stage, and both goals came from Giorgian de Arrascaeta in the win over Ghana that didn’t prove to be enough to see the Celeste through to the next round.
Nunez will have a point to prove when he does return to action for Liverpool because his form has been mixed since moving from Benfica in the summer and the World Cup was certainly a disappointment.
It is assumed that Nunez will be introduced from the bench given his World Cup ended weeks ago meaning he has been back in training for a short while. Liverpool may well find themselves needing a goal later in the game and that is where Nunez can win some fans over and exorcise some demons from the World Cup.
Manchester City are expected to name a very mixed eleven with some huge stars such as Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne set to take part from the off, along with some youngsters like Cole Palmer.
Man City predicted starting 11 (4-3-3): Ortega; Lewis, Katongo, Laporte, Gomez; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Palmer; Mahrez, Haaland, Rogers.
Bench: Van Sas, Smith, Galvez, Samuel, McDonald, Alleyne, O’Reilly, Robertson, Borges.
