Jayden Danns with main group as four things spotted in Liverpool training before Atalanta
Liverpool faces a Herculean task in Bergamo tomorrow. Having succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Anfield, it must win by at least that scoreline away from home to keep Jürgen Klopp's hopes of Europa League progression alive.
The favorites for the whole competition before last Thursday night, Liverpool's capitulation was as unexpected as it was damaging. But while Klopp knows he needs something close to a miracle to keep his hopes of one last European trophy with the Reds alive, he has engineered such comebacks before.
There's the added incentive that a stirring effort against Atalanta could spill over into the remainder of the Premier League season, where just two points separate the top three. Much like we saw the Manchester United draw take its toll beyond those 90 minutes, Liverpool could spark itself back into life tomorrow night.
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With that in mind, it's safe to assume that Klopp will opt for a strong team, despite some calls for him to rotate and focus on the league. But the Liverpool boss may nonetheless want to make certain changes, in an attempt to shake his side out of its present reverie.
The squad underwent an open training session ahead of travelling out to Italy. Here are four things that we spotted.
Jayden Danns involved
Jayden Danns is an increasingly routine presence in first-team training, and his participation here was not a surprise. Nevertheless, his appearance caused something of a stir in the YouTube comments, with a groundswell of support behind the idea of giving him some minutes.
After all, Danns has already stolen the show amid more senior colleagues once this season, netting a brace against Southampton in the FA Cup. He also showed his ability to make a difference at the highest level with an impressive performance off the bench in the League Cup final against Chelsea.
Danns was involved for the U21s recently, scoring an incredible back-heeled goal in a 3-0 win over Manchester United. With the regular forwards misfiring, some kind of involvement against Atalanta might not be the worst idea.
Full-backs link up
In Trent Alexander-Arnold's absence, he lost his crown as the defender with the most all-time Premier League assists to his name. The new holder? Andy Robertson, of course.
Alexander-Arnold is fit again, and will be keen to wrestle that title back. And the pair of them partnered up in team training, spraying long passes to each other across the AXA pitch.
Liverpool may well see those replicated over a longer distance in Bergamo, with the pair in contention to start together for the first time in months. Alexander-Arnold's crossfield switches are the stuff of legend, and can hopefully drag Atalanta around.
Stefan Bajčetić again with the main group
Klopp has repeatedly stressed that Liverpool will take no risks with Stefan Bajčetić, who has missed a huge chunk of football. Sidelined in last season's run-in, his original 'comeback' was extremely brief, so he's effectively been out for the best part of a year.
But so far, the cautious approach has been paying off. Bajčetić has been reintegrated into first-team training for a couple of weeks, and has also got minutes under his belt with the U21s.
He was in full training again here, as he builds his way up to the required levels. It remains to be seen whether he has a role to play before the end of the campaign, but if nothing else, he will be in prime condition to impress the next manager in pre-season.
No Conor Bradley
It would have been a big surprise to see Conor Bradley, after the Liverpool full-back went off injured against Crystal Palace. While there's not been an official update yet, it's thought he could miss the remainder of April.
No doubt Klopp will be asked for a fuller update when he faces the media this evening. But for now, Bradley's absence from training confirmed the immediate suspicion that he will at least be sidelined for a short period.
Fortunately, Alexander-Arnold took part in the session as expected, having made his return in place of the injured Bradley at the weekend. Also in training was Joe Gomez, who presents another option.