Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to be available to Jurgen Klopp for the trip to Vicarage Road after recovering from a groin injury.
The Englishman missed games against Brentford, Porto and Manchester City and after missing England’s international break, he is back in contention for the Reds’ next batch of fixtures.
It’s a welcome boost for Klopp, who is dealing with something of a selection headache due to a combination of injuries and travelling related concerns.
Alisson Becker and Fabinho will miss the game against Watford as they will not be back in the UK in time to face the Hornets due to Liverpool playing the early kickoff and the Brazilian pair being required to quarantine before returning to the United Kingdom.
Curtis Jones has allayed injury fears while Thiago Alcantara is yet to return to training and is increasingly at risk of missing out on playing at the weekend.
Diogo Jota has returned to Merseyside early, Sky Sports has reported, as a muscle injury has forced him out of recent training sessions.
Meanwhile, Harvey Elliott is a confirmed absence, of course, as he rehabs the horrible injury he picked up against Leeds United but Klopp will need to be clever with his team selection but I don’t envy him.
Liverpool injuries starting to pile up
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Jurgen Klopp spoke to the media about the state of international football and how it’s impacting players and their ability to the player for their clubs.
Alisson and Fabinho are unable to play for Liverpool this weekend and could miss the Atletico Madrid game as well if they are unable to travel directly to the Spanish capital.
Klopp has spoken about it in the past but there are already so many games and with the Nations League recently being added to the fixture list, it further complicates things.
Thibaut Courtois actually lashed out at football authorities for prioritising revenue over player welfare following the UEFA Nations League conclusion and it’s difficult to find a flaw in his argument.
Courtois talking about FIFA & UEFA: “They can be angry about other teams wanting a Super League… but all they care about is their pockets. They don’t care about the players. They want a European Championship and a World Cup every year! When will we rest?” pic.twitter.com/Xg1RQWqm2R
— TalkFCB © (@talkfcb_) October 11, 2021
FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League might have slammed the Super League but they only did so because they were scared of being cut out of a lucrative project.
They are already exploiting footballers and fans and were jealous that a group had found a way to get the biggest clubs on the planet to band together and plan to leave them.
With injuries mounting for several clubs, it won’t be long before we hear from managers speaking out about unnecessary fixture congestion.