Team News: Van Dijk, Salah start for Liverpool, Maddison on Tottenham Hotspur bench

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have both been named in the Liverpool starting lineup for their Premier League showdown with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

The Reds need to win if they are to stand any chance of winning the 2023-24 title, and Jurgen Klopp has made just the one change to the side that drew 2-2 with West Ham United last week.

The alteration is a particularly noteworthy one, though, as Salah is back in the hosts' starting lineup after his touchline row with Klopp at the London Stadium, where he was brought on for the second half.

Klopp stressed that the matter had been resolved in his pre-game press conference, though, and the German has doused the fire further by reintroducing the Egyptian back into the XI in place of Ryan Gravenberch.

Salah's recall to the front three, which also comprises Cody Gakpo over Darwin Nunez, will seemingly lead to Harvey Elliott dropping back into midfield, as Dominik Szoboszlai misses out on a place in the first XI too.

© Reuters

Van Dijk passed fit to start

At the back, Van Dijk has been given the green light to line up despite a fitness scare earlier in the week, and he joins Jarell Quansah in the defensive third, as Ibrahima Konate is overlooked again.

Conor Bradley is back on the Liverpool bench after an ankle injury, and visiting head coach Ange Postecoglou has also made just the one alteration to his side from their disappointing loss to Chelsea in midweek.

Richarlison is the one sacrificed for an extra midfielder in Rodrigo Bentancur, who will link arms with Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma in an unfamiliar engine room setup for the Lilywhites.

Rather than a 4-2-3-1 shape, Postecoglou appears to have gone for a conservative 4-3-3, which sees Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski start up top as James Maddison finds himself on the bench again.

Postecoglou has also opted to persist with Emerson Royal as a makeshift left-back, while 16-year-old winger Mikey Moore is among the substitutes once again.

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Endo, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Jones, Gravenberch, Bajcetic, Bradley

Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Sarr, Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson Subs: Austin, Dragusin, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Lo Celso, Maddison, Gil, Moore, Richarlison