Liverpool fitness boost for Manchester United and four…

Liverpool fitness boost for Manchester United and four other things spotted in training

Liverpool will have to wait until Monday before they can get their hotly-anticipated showdown with Manchester United underway at Old Trafford.

The televised evening fixture between the two most successful sides in English football will be watched by millions around the globe and both teams are desperate for a win. New United boss Erik ten Hag has endured something of a nightmare start to his reign, with back-to-back defeats including a humiliating 4-0 rout at the hands of Brentford.

But Liverpool have not exactly made a satisfactory start themselves, salvaging two draws from their opening two matches, heaping great importance on the United duel as as result.

Jurgen Klopp had his players back on training pitch today and a few things stood out in their preparations for the trip to Manchester.

Henderson is back - but no sign of longer term absentees

Jordan Henderson has handed Liverpool a boost after appearing to return to full training. The Liverpool captain had trained away from the main group in pictures released on Thursday.

The Reds have found themselves with a lengthy injury list early in the season, something that may have hampered their first couple of results, but any hopes of a few more surprise returns have been dashed. Thiago, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were nowhere to be seen. Liverpool could do with them all back as soon as possible.

Big Nat more involved

Nat Phillips got an unexpected start at centre-back against Patrick Vieira's side as Liverpool's centre-back injury problems re-emerged. The 25-year-old had been limited to separate running exercises when last seen near the training pitch on Thursday, but appeared to be more involved here.

Joel Matip's surprise appearance in the last training session was a welcome sight, after Klopp had earlier claimed he would be out of action for two weeks, but at this stage it is still anyone's guess who will partner Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence against the Red Devils.

Milly runs the 'slap' gauntlet

James Milner's early season form earned him a start against Crystal Palace on Monday and the veteran midfielder will be hoping that he can hold onto his place for the trip to Old Trafford. But the versatile Yorkshireman might need a couple of paracetamols this afternoon after he was forced to journey through a tunnel of his teammates with each one slapping him across the head.

We can't imagine he enjoyed that especially, but Milner will certainly want to be roughing United's players up on Monday.

Sprits high in camp

Liverpool's players have not hidden the fact that they are unsatisfied with their slow start to the season, but they appear to have put that behind them as the week has progressed. Klopp has revealed that Darwin Nunez had been down in the dumps after his sending off against Palace but reassured by his boss that no one can feel down for very long here.

As the players performed competitive exercises on Saturday, a group that included Kostas Tsimikas, Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah could be seen enthusiastically celebrating a group achievement. Winning is important - even in training.

Sepp still a Red for now at least

Centre-back Sepp van den Burg is the subject of interest from at least four different Championship clubs currently, with Blackburn Rovers known to want to take the 20-year-old on loan, alongside fellow young Red Tyler Morton. But the Dutchman's exit won't be a quick one, with Klopp keen to keep his options open until the last minute and he could be seen training as normal with his teammates today.

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