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Liverpool XI vs. Qarabag: Slot to Make Ekitike Call—Injury News, Lineup Prediction

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Safe passage through to the Champions League round of 16 requires a win.

 

 

Liverpool need to regroup after another desperately disappointing performance at the weekend. |

 

Liverpool will secure automatic progression to the last 16 of the Champions League if they beat Qarabağ in their final league phase outing.

 

The Reds have saved their best performances for Europe this season and will aim to conjure another successful night under the Anfield floodlights on Wednesday. Victory guarantees a top-eight finish but dropped points will leave Liverpool reliant on results elsewhere.

 

Conquering Qarabağ will prove far from straightforward, the Azerbaijani side 18th in the standings and within touching distance of the playoffs, with injuries and absentees also causing major issues for Arne Slot.

 

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Match Snapshot

 

🕒 Kick-off time: 8 p.m. GMT, 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. PT

 

📍 Location: Anfield

 

🏆 Competition: Champions League

 

📊 Recent form: WWLWW

 

Team News

 

 

Alexander Isak is a long-term casualty. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

 

⚠️ Key injuries, absentees: Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konaté

 

🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-2-2

 

Liverpool will be without Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley in the defence, both missing for the rest of the season, and they are joined by Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté on the sidelines.

 

Gomez was withdrawn due to injury in Liverpool’s 3–2 weekend defeat to Bournemouth, while Konaté has missed the previous two matches due to a family bereavement. Slot has confirmed both are missing against Qarabağ.

 

Federico Chiesa is a doubt, too, having missed the last two games, but was spotted in Tuesday’s training session. Alexander Isak is still absent in the forward line after breaking his leg just before Christmas.

 

Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs. Qarabağ (4-2-2-2)

 

 

Wataru Endo will provide emergency cover at the back. | FotMob

 

GK: Alisson—Alisson must be sick and tired of being left exposed by an underperforming defence and even a visit from Qarabağ will have him fearing a busy evening.

 

RB: Jeremie Frimpong—The Dutchman has been a bright spark during a difficult spell for the Reds and has been an important creative force in the final third—as evidenced in last week’s 3–0 win over Marseille.

 

CB: Wataru Endo—Liverpool’s defensive depth issues will be laid bare against Qarabağ as Endo is forced to partner Virgil van Dijk in the backline. He has been used in the role sparingly before.

 

CB: Virgil van Dijk—The 34-year-old’s decline this season has been alarming and Saturday’s dire performance at the Vitality Stadium was another example of his falling standards.

 

LB: Milos Kerkez—Kerkez endured an afternoon to forget on his return to the Vitality, withdrawn at half time after some poor defending allowed Bournemouth to double their lead. Improvements are required midweek.

 

DM: Ryan Gravenberch—Liverpool’s summer spending spree neglected their need for a new central defender and holding midfielder, with Gravenberch now forced to play almost every single game.

 

Next: The 25 Best Liverpool Players of All Time—Ranked

 

DM: Curtis Jones—Alexis Mac Allister produced another underwhelming display against the Cherries and could lose his place to Jones, who at least provides a spark in the engine room.

 

AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—One of few shining lights for Liverpool this term, the Hungarian did his best to spare his side’s blushes on the south coast with an assist and second free-kick goal in the space of three days. It still wasn’t enough.

 

AM: Florian Wirtz—The German continues to show glimpses of his quality and is one of few sources of creativity in a Liverpool forward line that is also underperforming. The Reds need his magic against Qarabağ.

 

ST: Mohamed Salah—Despite an impressive Africa Cup of Nations campaign, Salah has failed to deliver on his return to Liverpool. Questions over his performance levels remain despite rumours of a January exit having fizzled out.

 

ST: Hugo Ekitiké—Slot opted to rotate Ekitiké for Cody Gakpo at Bournemouth. That was a big mistake. The France international will return on Wednesday and will be seeking a first European goal since October.

 

Liverpool

The contract and paperwork are already in place for Liverpool to welcome back Jarell Quansah, who left Merseyside to join Bayer Leverkusen last summer, to help fill out the Reds’ thin defensive ranks

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Yes — that claim lines up with multiple transfer-news reports: Liverpool could re-sign 23-year-old England centre-back Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen in future, thanks to a buy-back clause in the deal that sent him to Germany — but not immediately next season.

🔁 What’s Happening with Quansah and Liverpool

Quansah moved from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for a reported fee around £30m-£35m (plus add-ons), joining the Bundesliga side on a long-term contract.

As part of that transfer, Liverpool inserted a buy-back clause allowing the club to re-sign him in the future for a pre-agreed fee.

footballtransfers.com

However, the clause cannot be activated until the summer of 2027 at the earliest.

TEAM

Reports suggest the buy-back figure could be around £50m-£60m (with potential add-ons increasing the fee), although exact numbers vary across sources.

Sports Mole +1

There are also indications Liverpool have pre-agreed personal terms with Quansah should they trigger the buy-back, smoothing the path for a return.

TEAMtalk

🧠 Context for the Move

Quansah was a Liverpool academy graduate and made senior appearances before leaving, but opted for more first-team football in Germany.

Football Today

With his development in the Bundesliga and Liverpool’s evolving defensive needs, the idea of bringing him back — especially given future departures or ageing defenders — is being discussed in transfer circles.

TEAMtalk

Bottom line: the Football Insider claim that Liverpool could re-sign Quansah later isn’t unfounded — there is a buy-back clause — but any switch is realistically targeted for 2027 or beyond, not next summer.

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Liverpool

Donnarumma’s 𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑩𝑳𝑬 save 97th minute… pure madness at Anfield Manchester City were leading 2–1 when Liverpool threw everyone forward in one last attack. A thunderous strike from Mac Allister looked destined for the net… but Donnarumma pulled off a massive, unbelievable save that left the entire stadium in shock

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PURE ANFIELD MADNESS 😱🔥

97th minute. City clinging to a 2–1 lead. Liverpool throw everyone forward. The crowd is bouncing, the tension is unbearable…

Mac Allister absolutely thunders one towards goal — it’s heading in, no doubt abo

FULL HD VIDEO🎥 👇👇👇

ut it.

Then BOOM 💥

GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA pulls out a save from another universe 🤯

Reflexes. Reach. Nerves of steel.

Anfield frozen. Liverpool stunned. City survive.

One of those saves that changes the whole story of the match.

Goalkeeper moments don’t get crazier than this 🤣🧤🔥

Football, bloody hell.

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Liverpool

BREAKING NEWS The Word From Liverpool Is’ – Arne Slot Sack Update Emerges After Man City Defeat

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Liverpool manager Arne Slot’s job is believed to be safe for now, despite their recent home defeat against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, according to journalist David Lynch.

 

The Reds looked as though they were heading to victory after Dominik Szboszlai fired in a stunning free-kick from range to put his side in front. Late in the game, Bernardo Silva latched onto a headed throughball by Erling Haaland, poking past Alisson Becker to level the scoring.

 

In the final minutes, Man City were awarded a penalty, and Erling Haaland stepped up to slot into the bottom corner, scoring the winner for Pep Guardiola’s side. City had the ball in the net once again in the dying seconds, but play was brought back for a foul by Szoboszlai, who was sent off after a VAR review.

 

Arne Slot Safe at Liverpool

 

According to journalist Lynch, Slot’s job at Liverpool is safe at the moment, but he doesn’t buy into the idea that he can afford endless poor performances and results.

 

The word from Liverpool is that Arne Slot is safe, but I don’t really buy the idea he can afford endless poor performances and bad results until the end of the season. Today was both, in my opinion. https://t.co/sjMRhibrZK — David Lynch (@davidlynchlfc) February 8, 2026

 

Liverpool are seemingly willing to stick with Slot for now, which might not be a huge surprise after he won the Premier League title last season. Their achievement in the 2024/2025 campaign undoubtedly carries a lot of weight, with Slot having credit in the bank heading into this campaign.

 

Results will undoubtedly have to improve, and with one Premier League win in their previous seven games, the pressure is on Slot to turn things around as soon as possible.

Liverpool need to make a decision and soon, as they are in danger of seeing their season drift away from them. The Reds will have been aiming to lift the Premier League title once again, but now, even Champions League qualification is looking like a difficult task.

 

The mentality to throw away a 1-0 lead against Man City is the biggest disappointment for them, especially as they’ve notoriously been a bogey team for Guardiola at Anfield. The credit in the bank will only last so long, and the board must surely be considering making a change in the near future

If FSG think that 6 wins out of the last 20, a points per game ratio similar to Spurs, behind United, just 2 points ahead of Everton and some dreadful football thrown in means he’s safe, then what would he have to do to be in trouble? FSG must see that he is not the answer. The Kop will decide on Slot’s fate as they did with Hodgson.

 

 

The idea having credit in the bank for having a past title, that’s only a rhyme at Lfc. We saw Mourinho being sacked for far less bad results though he is/was a seasoned manager. Had Slot won the CL? At Lfc it is all about the money. They fabricate reasons just not to sign new players. They do the same not to sack.

 

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