Liverpool will be looking to cement their place at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Ipswich Town at Anfield. Here are the line-ups

Liverpool will be looking to cement their place at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Ipswich Town at Anfield this afternoon.

The Reds are enjoying a superb campaign, both domestically and in Europe, as they sit top of the Premier League and Champions League tables. Arne Slot’s men maintained their 100 percent record in Europe with a 2-1 win over Lille on Tuesday night and are comfortably through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare.

Domestically, the Reds are storming their way to the title as they head into the weekend action holding a six point lead with a game in hand, so they can at least maintain that advantage with victory over Ipswich today.

Alisson Becker keeps goal once again while Virgil van Dijk is partnered by Ibrahima Konate in the middle of defence. Trent Alexander-Arnold starts at right-back with Andrew Robertson occupying the left-back spot.

Ryan Gravenberch starts in the defensive midfield position along with Alexis MacAllister for Liverpool. Dominic Szoboszlai also gets a start so Harvey Elliot has to make do with a place on the bench.

Mohamed Salah starts on the right flank once again for Liverpool while Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz also start in attack. Therefore, Darwin Nunez has to make do with a place among the substitutes.

Here are the confirmed line-ups:

Liverpool

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz.

Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Elliott, Tsimikas, Danns, Quansah, Bradley

Ipswich

Walton, Burns, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Hutchinson, Phillips, Morsy, Philogene, Delap

Subs: Muric, Johnson, Townsend, Godfrey, Taylor, Luongo, Enciso, Hirst, Broadhead

• January 25, 2025Liverpool take on Ipswich Town on matchday 23 of the Premier League at Anfield as they look to extend their advantage on top of the league standings this afternoon at 15:00 local time. Arne Slot’s rotated side secured passage into the Champions League knockout stage with a guaranteed top two berth with the manager’s key men expected to return for the PL game.

Ipswich are 18th in the table and come into the game with only one win in their last five Premier League outings, so Liverpool should be heavy favourites to see them off. Having said that, here’s how the Reds might line up.

Goalkeeper – Alisson Becker is likely to retain his place in between the sticks ahead of Caoimhin Kelleher.

Defenders – Two changes are expected in the back four with Andy Robertson replacing Kostas Tsimikas at left back whereas Jarell Quansah might also make way for Ibrahima Konate in the heart of defence. Virgil van Dijk could keep his spot next to Konate, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is also favourite to get the nod at right back.

Gakpo to start in attack

Midfielders – Alexis Mac Allister was rested in the Champions League game midweek but may return to the starting eleven in the double pivot next to Ryan Gravenberch, who could also be named in the line-up against Ipswich Town. Curtis Jones could see his lengthy run of starts come to an end as Dominik Szoboszlai may be preferred as the team’s number 10.

Mohamed Salah will be the favourite to keep his berth on the right wing, whereas Cody Gakpo might come into the team on the left flank. The Dutchman is in imperious form and is arguably the best Liverpool forward this season after Salah.

Forwards – Darwin Nunez was the match-winner for Liverpool last weekend with two stoppage time goals but might be relegated to the bench this time with Luis Diaz likely to lead the line.

Here is a look at how the team could look on paper.

The relatively unheard of Ali Al-Hamadi arrived at Plough Lane in 2023 on a free transfer. Little did AFC Wimbledon know this would prove to be one of their best signings in recent years.

The man from Maysan endured a tough time at Wycombe Wanderers, where he found match minutes hard to come by. This led to him making the move to Wimbledon in January 2023, which would certainly prove to be the right decision.

The Dons took a gamble on singing the unknown youngster, which has paid off massively for both parties. Al-Hamadi is now a Premier League player, and his former side are mounting a promotion charge in League Two.

The young forward made his way through the ranks at Tranmere Rovers and Swansea City in his youth career, before signing his first professional deal with the Swans in 2020. He also had a trial at Derby County the following year, which ultimately didn’t land him a gig with the Rams.

He would go on to have a successful trial at Wycombe though, landing a contract at Adams Park which initially saw him link up with their B team. A strong loan spell with Bromley put Al-Hamadi in great stead to break into the first-team at Wycombe, but this wouldn’t be the case sadly.

He struggled for minutes under Gareth Ainsworth and didn’t manage to particularly catch the eye when he did play. On a cold December evening in Plymouth, the attacker failed to impress and was replaced with fellow youngster Tjay De-Barr. This would be the beginning of the end for Al-Hamadi, as his colleague impressed the boss to push the Iraqi further down the pecking order.

When the January window rolled around, Al-Hamadi was free to find a new home. He joined AFC Wimbeldon in League Two, for what was initially a free transfer, but the Chairboys had an invested interest. It was a good thing they did, as nobody could’ve foreseen what the ex-Swansea forward would go on to do.

It took the attacker a month to find his feet in League Two with his first goal, but once he did, the goals didn’t stop coming. He was named EFL Young Player of the Month in March 2023, after his electric form for the Dons.

By the end of the 2023-24 campaign, Al-Hamadi had notched 10 goals in 19 league appearances for Johnnie Jackson’s side, which was seriously impressive considering he’d only been at the club for half a season. This goalscoring form had certainly left any disappointments of his time with Wycombe in the dust.

Plenty of clubs were monitoring the then 21-year-old, but the real test would be whether he could keep up his form the following season. He did just that, netting a hat-trick against his former youth club, Tranmere, on his way to 13 goals in the first-half of the season. By now, clubs were queuing up to secure Al-Hamadi’s signature.

Championship side Ipswich Town were the ones lucky enough to snap him up from the Dons, in a deal that was reportedly worth around £1m. Whilst an unknown amount was due to head to Buckinghamshire, it’s fair to say that Wimbledon’s gamble to bring the striker in paid off, as they’d make a huge profit by selling him to the Tractor Boys.

His time at Portman Road has been largely unsuccessful thus far, but with Town securing promotion to the Premier League, it was unlikely that Al-Hamadi would be able to adapt from League Two to the top flight overnight.

This gamble from the Dons not only helped the Iraq international get his career back on track and achieve his dream of becoming a Premier League player, it also brought plenty of money to Wimbledon, which has allowed them to mount a promotion challenge this .

 

Liverpool are back in action this afternoon with the visit of Ipswich Town to Anfield. And the Reds will be hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table on a busy day in the Premier League, with Arsenal and Nottingham Forest both playing at the same time.

Arne Slot has options at his disposal for the match, which is sandwiched between two key Champions League games. Lille were dispatched on Tuesday 2-1 at Anfield and now Liverpool need just a point at PSV Eindhoven this coming Tuesday to secure top spot.

The Reds, however, failed to come through the match against Lille unscathed, with a new injury confirmed this week. Indeed, Curtis Jones is now set to spend a spell on the sidelines after picking up a knock in the first half of the match.

The midfielder was hurt just before half-time and while he was able to continue after treatment for the remainder of the first half, he failed to reappear for the second half.

Slot confirmed on Friday that Jones was not available for the Ipswich match and that he was now a doubt for PSV or the trip to Bournemouth next weekend.

“He went off during half time which is mostly not a good sign and it wasn’t because he won’t be available for the game tomorrow,” Slot said.

“The rest we have to see how long it will take. I am not expecting months, of course. Well not ‘of course’ but I am not predicting months, but let’s see if he can play against PSV or Bournemouth.”

Jones joined Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, with the pair both out for “weeks rather than months”, but certainly unavailable in the immediate future.

Gomez has been absent since injuring his hamstring during the first half of the 5-0 Premier League win at West Ham United on December 29.

Jota, meanwhile, has missed the last games after complaining of having suffered a muscle injury during his goalscoring cameo from the bench during the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last midweek. The Portuguese has already missed a significant chunk of the campaign after an impact injury to his upper body at home to Chelsea back in late October.