Liverpool face a nervous wait to discover if Diogo Jota is set for another injury absence, with Jurgen Klopp fearing a recurrence of the forward's hamstring problems.
Jota sat out the Reds' first game of their pre-season tour, as a heavily rotated side went down 4-0 to Manchester United in Bangkok.
The Champions League finalists have now flown on to Singapore for their next friendly, against Crystal Palace on Friday, but they are set to be without the Portugal attacker again.
Jota originally injured his hamstring while with Portugal during the international break in June, and Klopp speculated that the issue has been aggravated upon his return to training on Wednesday.
"Diogo is unlucky," Klopp told Liverpool's website. "Diogo was not involved [against United] because of an injury he got at the end of his season.
"He trained yesterday fully and got injured again, so that's really not cool. But we have to wait for the results. He had further assessments this morning, so we have to see."
Jota is not the only player who looks poised to miss the clash with Patrick Vieira's side, with Alisson a doubt.
"Ali was not 100 per cent, he finished the session earlier, was doing the warm-up and felt something, so now there we have to wait as well," Klopp added.
While Klopp's heavy rotation against United did not prove conducive to the final result, it nevertheless banked crucial minutes for several squad members, with 32 players used in all in Thailand.
Klopp hinted at a similar approach for Palace, adding: "Some might get 45 minutes tomorrow, we have to see, but again it's the period of the year where we have to be really careful with different things.
"These are our footballers, these are the only boys we have. We have a lot of them, but these are the only ones we have, so we have to take care, and we bring them in the best possible situation."
Football rumours: Mo Salah tipped to leave Liverpool
What the papers say
Mo Salah is keen to leave Liverpool after a failed £200 million transfer bid, with the Sun reporting that three replacements have now been identified.
The i says Sean Dyche‘s job as Everton manager is not under threat, in spite of the club’s recent poor form.
Gremio left winger Gustavo Nunes, a rising star from Brazil, is attracting interest from Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal despite only making his senior debut in February, writes the Daily Mail.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Mason Greenwood: Manchester United could offer him as part of a deal to sign Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 27, from Juventus, Gazzetta dello Sport claims.
Jarrad Branthwaite: Bayern Munich and Tottenham have joined Manchester United in considering a move for the Everton defender, as per Teamtalk.
Idrissa Gana Gueye: Saudi Pro League clubs are interested in the 34-year-old midfielder, who is unlikely to be offered a new deal by Everton when his contract expires, writes Football Insider.
Aldershot move into play-off places with victory at 10-man Gateshead
Kwame Thomas headed Aldershot into the National League play-off places in a 1-0 win away to a Gateshead side who played almost half the match with a defender deputising in goal.
Gateshead had goalkeeper Nathan Harness sent off in the 47th minute for bringing down James Daly outside the box and, with no stopper on the bench, Louis Storey went between the posts for the rest of the night.
Storey made a good save to keep out Cian Harries’ free-kick in the 51st minute, but could do nothing as the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later.
Thomas got on the end of a looping cross from Josh Barrett to head in, and it proved enough for a win that puts them one point above FC Halifax, who host Oldham on Thursday.
Jurgen Klopp hopes Liverpool can evoke spirit of Barcelona comeback at Atalanta
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will evoke the spirit of their Barcelona comeback when he sends his team out to keep their Europa League hopes alive against Atalanta in Bergamo.
The Reds have a 3-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg if they are to make the semi-finals, a scenario which has echoes of their famous comeback to beat the Catalan side in a Champions League semi-final in May 2019 on their way to winning a sixth European Cup.
After that victory his players remarked about the stirring speech he gave in the dressing room before kick-off and Klopp said, although he does not yet have anything planned, he can use that brilliant night at Anfield as a reference point even though they will not have the backing of a home crowd.
“I usually don’t prepare these things like that, especially not the day before or four years before whatever,” he said.
“I remember I said, ‘If we fail, then let’s fail in the most beautiful way’. And that’s exactly how I see it again.
“After the game (last week) everyone in the stadium thought ‘that’s it’. Now it’s a week later I don’t think everyone thinks it is already decided
“We want to win the game. If we want to win, we better play good. If we play good, we have a chance to win it. Then we will see.”
That Barcelona victory is the only time in Liverpool’s long European history they have overturned a three-goal first leg deficit.
However, they have never made such a comeback playing the second leg away from home and in the four first leg European ties they have lost at Anfield they have never progressed to the next round.
Liverpool hammered Atalanta 5-0 at home in a behind-closed-doors Champions League group game during lockdown in November 2020 – having lost the home leg 2-0 – and Klopp hopes they can capitalise on any indecision the hosts may have about how to approach their seemingly comfortable lead.
“Tomorrow is more difficult because they don’t have to score at all,” he added.
“We will see who deals better with the situation. If Atalanta go through then they will deserve it. If not, then something special will have happened.
“We have to do better. It’s really not simple because usually you fight for everything but when you are 3-0 up it is not easy for them.”
Despite their significant advantage, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini is not underestimating the occasion as they seek to book only the second European semi-final spot in the club’s history.
“We know that it will be one of the most important games in our history, if not the most important,” he told a press conference.
“Even though we won the first leg, tomorrow we start again at 0-0. Our focus will have to be not to think about the result of the first leg.”
Captain Marten De Roon added: “I don’t think only in Bergamo but I believe that all of Italy will be behind us tomorrow.”
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