September 24th 2024.
Unfortunately, Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker will not be joining his teammates on the field for their midweek match against West Ham. However, there is some good news as Federico Chiesa, who recently joined the team from Juventus, is ready to start the game.
Chiesa's fitness has been a concern since he arrived at Anfield during the later stages of the transfer window, leaving him with little time for a proper pre-season. As a result, he has only made two brief appearances as a substitute so far. Manager Arne Slot has confirmed that while Chiesa is not yet ready to play a full 90 minutes, he is fit enough to start in the upcoming Carabao Cup clash against West Ham.
Slot explained, "He only played a maximum of 25 minutes in the last few months and did not participate in any friendly matches with Juventus. However, in our opinion, he is ready to start. We have multiple options and we will see if he will indeed start. However, we do not believe he is fit enough to play the full 90 minutes against a strong West Ham team."
Chiesa's Premier League debut came off the bench in the 3-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, but Alisson was unable to play due to an injury. In his place, Caoimhín Kelleher filled the role and will do so again on Wednesday. However, there is hope that Alisson will return for their next match against Wolves on Saturday.
Slot stated, "It is certain that Caoimhín will be in goal tomorrow. Alisson is making progress, but I feel this game is still a bit too soon for him. We are aiming for the weekend match against Wolves, but it will be a close call. He will not be joining us tomorrow, but Caoimhín will be in goal. That is one thing I can confirm for sure at this point."
Kelleher's performance against Bournemouth, where he kept a clean sheet, was impressive to Slot. He added, "I was not surprised by his performance at all. He was already very good during pre-season. It's a great asset for us to have two top goalkeepers, and even our third option is a strong player. It was pleasing to see Kelleher's clean sheet. He had to make a few saves, but he handled them really well."
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