Alisson still out as Arne Slot reveals goalkeeper plan for League Cup

Alisson remains out with a hamstring injury and could miss the next two Games, with Arne Slot confirming that Caoimhin Kelleher will start against West Ham.

Having missed the 3-0 win over Bournemouth with a tight hamstring, Alisson is still sidelined and is even a doubt for the trip to Wolves in the Premier League this weekend.

Kelleher stepped in and kept a clean sheet at Anfield and is now set to keep his place for the Carabao Cup third-round tie against West Ham on Wednesday night.

This was expected either way, with the Irishman established as Liverpool’s cup goalkeeper in his duties as No. 2, though it was unclear exactly how Slot would approach things.

Alisson‘s injury has forced his hand for now, with the head coach giving a pointed reply when asked about the Brazilian’s fitness.

“It’s sure that Caoimh will be in goal tomorrow,” he said.

“Alisson is getting there, but I think this Game is coming just a bit too early.

“We’re looking at the weekend against Wolves, but it’s going to be tight, so let’s see if he manages to be there.

“But he will not be there tomorrow, so Caoimh will be in goal tomorrow. That’s the one thing I know for sure at this moment.”

With Alisson out for the next Game and doubtful for the one after that, it highlights the importance of a strong stable of goalkeepers – particularly given Liverpool’s No. 1 is more prone to absence than any other stopper in the Premier League.

Beyond Kelleher there is 23-year-old Vitezslav Jaros, who will be on the bench again in midweek and ready to take his place if it falls to him, too.

The onus is on Kelleher now, though, with the 25-year-old again coming in for first-team opportunity after seeing a summer transfer spurned due to a lack of reasonable offers.

“I wasn’t surprised at all with his performance [against Bournemouth], because he was very good in pre-season already and I think he was very good with his national team as well,” Slot said of his second choice.

“So it’s a good thing for us that we have two quality players.

“And we forget the third one in his position, because almost in every position we have two but in goalkeepers we’ve got three or four, and [Jaros] is also a really good goalkeeper.

“It’s a good thing for us and like you say, we need to have a strong squad, because you can pick up injuries or whatever can happen.

“So it was good to see and pleasing to see that he kept a clean sheet – not in the way that he had nothing to do, but he had to act a few times and he acted really well.”