Florian Wirtz Injury: Illness rules him out

Wirtz is ruled out of Saturday's clash against Chelsea due to illness, according to coach Arne Slot. "He tried everything to be in it. But an infection in the stomach. He wasn't feeling well during the week. He tried earlier in the week to train, but in the end things got worse and he wasn't able to train with us yesterday and isn't able to be with us today."

Wirtz's absence is an untimely blow for Liverpool heading into a high-stakes fixture, with Rio Ngumoha stepping into the starting lineup in his place. The club will hope the illness proves short-lived enough to have their key attacking midfielder available again for the remaining fixtures of the campaign, with Liverpool unable to afford any further disruptions at this stage of the season. Wirtz started the last 11 games across all competitions for Liverpool, contributing one goal, two assists and 30 chances created in that span.