Every player out of Europa League clash vs Sparta Prague

Jurgen Klopp has been able to mastermind a run of six successive victories and a Carabao Cup final win despite a mountain of injuries, with Sparta Prague the next test for Liverpool’s relatively threadbare squad.

The Reds are without a number of key contributors for their Europa League last-16 first leg against the Czech champions on Thursday, with a daunting clash against Manchester City in the Premier League also on the horizon.

Liverpool could be without ten players for their European venture midweek, with Klopp almost able to field an elite lineup of injured personnel.

Here are all the players unavailable to Liverpool for Thursday’s trip to the Czech capital.

Liverpool’s defence is comparatively well-stocked ahead of the trip to Sparta, but some big names are still absent through injury. One of those is first-choice goalkeeper Alisson, with the Brazilian out of action until after the March international break with a hamstring issue.

While Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez have been fantastic deputies at right-back this season, the Reds would still love to have Trent Alexander-Arnold at their disposal on Thursday. However, the 25-year-old is on the treatment table after aggravating an existing injury against Burnley at the beginning of February.

Joel Matip tore his ACL at the beginning of December in the 4-3 victory over Fulham and could be out for the rest of the season. With his contract expiring this summer, he may have played his last game for the Reds.

Klopp finds himself light in the engine room at present, although the return of Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai against Nottingham Forest last weekend has helped ease concerns.

However, the Reds are still without Ryan Gravenberch, the latest of Liverpool’s midfield casualties. The Dutchman was injured by Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo in the Carabao Cup final, but fortunately his ankle problem isn’t as bad as first feared.

Curtis Jones could be available for Liverpool before the upcoming international break, but there is no chance of him returning for the trip to Prague. Thiago is also sidelined and could miss the rest of the season after injuring himself on his return to the first team against Arsenal in early February.

Stefan Bajcetic has only been able to make two appearances for Liverpool this season despite an impressive debut campaign in 2022/23. The young Spaniard is now “pain-free” according to Klopp, but his first-team return is not imminent.

Darwin Nunez returned to the Liverpool team with a bang on Saturday, scoring a 99th-minute winner against Forest at the City Ground. The Uruguayan’s timely return is a huge boost to Liverpool, who are still without Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian is expected to be back in training for Liverpool this week, although he is extremely unlikely to feature against Sparta as he rests up for the visit of Man City.

Diogo Jota is still set for an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury against Brentford several weeks ago, with the Portuguese unlikely to feature until mid-April at the earliest.

Ben Doak, who racked up a number of minutes in the group stage, will be absent for the foreseeable future as well, with the 18-year-old still recovering from knee surgery.

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