‘Good news’ – Liverpool journalist delighted as Arne Slot given big boost ahead of Spurs clash | OneFootball

There were a couple of standout pieces of team news for Liverpool ahead of this evening’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

The only change to the starting XI from the win over Brighton sees Conor Bradley replace the injured Joe Gomez at right-back, with Dominik Szoboszlai winning his race against time to be passed fit for the fixture in north London.

Meanwhile, Jeremie Frimpong is named among the substitutes as he returns to the matchday squad for the first time since incurring a hamstring injury in the 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in October.

Arne Slot’s options elsewhere have been restricted by injuries to Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo, along with Mo Salah’s involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but Liverpool’s 2025/26 top scorer Hugo Ekitike will seek to maintain his excellent form in the Premier League.

Ian Doyle welcomes Frimpong’s return

When the team news was confirmed 75 minutes before kick-off, journalist Ian Doyle welcomed the return of Frimpong to the matchday squad after his two-month absence.

The reporter wrote on the Liverpool Echo‘s live matchday blog: ‘Not much Slot could have done other than name that team. Ekitike is one of the form strikers in the league and Bradley was the obvious replacement for the crocked Gomez. Frimpong back on the bench is good news, though.’

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Frimpong return a timely boost for Liverpool as hectic January looms

Frimpong enjoyed a dream start to his Liverpool career, scoring inside 20 minutes of his debut against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, but it’s been a frustrating campaign for him since that day at Wembley in August.

He missed two of the Reds’ first three Premier League games with a minor hamstring problem before then sustaining a more serious issue in October, and he hasn’t started in the top flight since the opening night victory over Bournemouth (Transfermarkt).

He’ll undoubtedly be eager to make up for lost time soon, although he’ll realise that Bradley is likely to occupy the right-back berth for the time being, barring any further injury problems for the Northern Ireland international.

With Salah at AFCON, Slot also has the option of deploying Frimpong on the right-hand side of attack. The 25-year-old was used in that role against Galatasaray earlier this season, although the experiment didn’t have the desired effect in our 1-0 defeat in Istanbul.

Liverpool have a packed January coming up, with nine matches in just 31 days, and we’ll need as full a squad as possible for that hectic fixture run. The Dutchman’s return from injury has duly come at an ideal time, and even if he doesn’t get off the bench this evening, it shouldn’t be much longer before he’s back on the pitch.

Hopefully the ex-Bayer Leverkusen flier can enjoy a less disrupted second half to the campaign and demonstrate the exciting qualities which persuaded the Reds to sign him at the very start of the summer.