Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes it "might not be a bad thing" that Liverpool will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold when they take on Manchester City this afternoon.
City come into the match at Anfield as the only unbeaten side remaining in the Premier League and sit 13 points above Liverpool - who have struggled for form in this new campaign.
Alexander-Arnold, who injured his ankle in the 3-2 loss at Arsenal last Sunday, has been under intense scrutiny this season for some of his defending when Jurgen Klopp 's side have conceded goals.
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Joe Gomez looks set to keep his place at right-back for the visit of City after playing well in that position during the 7-1 win over Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Murphy believes it is better to have the more "orthodox defender" in Gomez at full-back against City rather than the attacking Alexander-Arnold.
"The way Manchester City have been playing and Liverpool leaking goals, it might not be a bad thing for Jurgen Klopp to have Joe Gomez at right-back instead of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold," Murphy wrote in his Mail on Sunday column.
"Gomez is a more orthodox defender and that is even more important now that Liverpool concentrate on that now they’ve switched to 4-2-3-1 to squeeze in an extra attacking player. If it is going to be Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez on Sunday, with Mo Salah and Diogo Jota wider, the priority for Liverpool’s right-back has to be defender first, rather than going forward.
"Of course, you would miss the creative ability of Alexander-Arnold but what Liverpool hope is that they’ve got the additional firepower up the pitch to make chances anyway. There will be times Liverpool are on the back foot and that’s when the athleticism and one-on-one capabilities of Gomez will be more than useful."
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