Fabinho: Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool midfielder likely to return in time to face Man City
Fabinho was sidelined by a muscle problem for Thursday's win at Spurs; Jurgen Klopp expects the 27-year-old to miss Sunday's trip to West Ham and Wednesday's visit of Brighton; follow West Ham vs Liverpool on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm
Sunday 31 January 2021 18:15, UK
Midfielder Fabinho is set to miss Liverpool's next two matches with an injury but could return for the crucial clash against Manchester City - the one team manager Jurgen Klopp believes could run away with the title this season.
The Brazil international has been filling in as an auxiliary centre-back due to the long-term absences of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez but was sidelined by a muscle problem for Thursday's win at Tottenham.
And while the problem was described as "minor" by Klopp, he expects the 27-year-old to miss both Sunday's trip to West Ham on Sky Sports, and Wednesday's visit of Brighton.
"Minor issues nowadays are at least three games, depending on the week it could be four games," said Klopp, who said midfielder Naby Keita was closer to a return after eight matches out, but not in time for this weekend.
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"I think the game when Fab could be back is City."
Pep Guardiola's side have recovered from an indifferent start to the season and are currently on a run of 11 successive victories.
Seven of those have come in the Premier League and catapulted them to top spot, with a match in hand, heading into the weekend.
Klopp admits that is an ominous sign in a unique season in which most teams have experienced unexpected results.
It will not require 98-plus points to win the title this year but the Liverpool boss does not know whether it will fall as low as the 75 which saw Manchester United become champions in 1997.
"Will it be the most exciting run-in with different teams around? Could be," he said.
"But City could run away now as well. They are in a good position with games in hand and are playing good football again.
"I don't know if it will be the lowest points total. What we see is it is a difficult season for all teams maybe apart from West Ham, and Leicester look pretty good.
"There are a lot of teams who look good but we all have ups and downs.
"You have to be lucky with injuries to be really on top of things - more than in other years because of the amount of games in a specific period that is for sure.
"But I can imagine watching from outside it is exciting, especially for a neutral fan. I don't know who will be champion."
West Ham vs Liverpool on Sky
West Ham vs Liverpool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off at 4.30pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
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Jones Knows' prediction
If West Ham beat Liverpool, they will have won seven games in a row for just the third time in their history.
David Moyes is now the second coming of Sir Alex Ferguson again.
But like with all football narratives that gather widespread attention, West Ham and their manager are being significantly overpraised, like, when things were going badly for Moyes his ability as a manager was never as rotten as many made out. It is the way of the world these days.
Does beating Crystal Palace, Doncaster, West Brom, Burnley, Stockport and Everton deserve praise? Of course. Has Moyes surpassed expectations? Of course. Does it deserve a statue being built outside the ground? Hardly.
If they come through this acid test, then I will start to take the Hammers seriously as top-six contenders.
Moyes has notoriously struggled against the red side of Merseyside, failing to win in his last 13 encounters with them. Between Sadio Mane's goal vs West Brom on December 27 and Roberto Firmino's goal vs Tottenham, Liverpool went 93 shots, 18 shots on target and 482 minutes without scoring, registering an expected goals figure of 7.8.
On Thursday they reminded everyone of their relentlessness. There should not be too many problems here.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-3 (12/1 with Sky Bet)
Pitch to Post Preview - Arsenal v Man Utd build-up, plus: Man City's title charge, Liverpool's return to form, and problems for Tottenham
In this week's Pitch to Post Preview Podcast Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp joins Peter Smith to look ahead to the big Saturday night clash between Arsenal and Manchester United, and gives his verdict on Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard - and why Man Utd slipped up against Sheffield United.
We also get the inside story on Man City's title pursuit from Sky Sports News reporter Ben Ransom, who explains how one City star has been transformed by Pep Guardiola's methods this season.
And Sky Sports feature writer Adam Bate reflects on Liverpool's much-needed win at Tottenham - and the injuries sustained which could impact both sides. Plus he makes his Pitch for what will happen in the next round of Premier League games…
Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
