Two ex-Reds will miss the chance to line up against their former team-mates as this weekend’s visitors come to Anfield without a number of important figures.
Liverpool will host Nottingham Forest on Sunday in their return to Premier League action looking to keep pace with those towards the top end of the table.
It was an eventful 3-2 victory for the Reds the last time these two sides met in April and the job of Steve Cooper’s side has been made more difficult by the absences of a number of key players.
That casualty list includes Divock Origi, who will not be able to face his former side at Anfield having sustained a hip problem last week.
Origi played 175 times and scored 41 goals across his seven seasons at the club and earned huge popularity on the Kop by making a habit of scoring at crucial moments.
Cooper confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the Belgian will join fellow ex-Red Taiwo Awoniyi on the sidelines, who himself has been out since the beginning of the month with a groin issue.
Awoniyi never made a senior appearance for the Reds but has been an integral feature of Nottingham Forest‘s forward line this season, chipping in with three goals and two assists prior to his injury.
He is the only player to have registered more goal contributions than Anthony Elanga, who is also a doubt with Cooper describing the winger as “touch and go” for the game.
Elanga has one goal and three assists of his own to his name so far in 2023/24, and him missing out would represent a significant blow to a side already suffering with injuries.
Forest are faced with the prospect of starting their third-choice left-back against Liverpool, with Gonzalo Montiel still out with a calf problem and Nuno Tavares a doubt with a groin injury.
Tavares returned to training alongside Danilo and Felipe this week, but whether those three players are in contention for a start remains to be seen.
