Champions League

Liverpool squad update: key players available ahead of Champions League clash with Galatasaray

Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz are fit and ready to play as Arne Slot prepares for his 100th game in charge.

Jason Cairnduff

Digital sports journalist

Scottish sports journalist and content creator. After running his own soccer-related projects, in 2022 he joined Diario AS, where he mainly reports on the biggest news from around Europe’s leading soccer clubs, Liga MX and MLS, and covers live games in a not-too-serious tone. Likes to mix things up by dipping into the world of American sports.

Update: Mar 9th, 2026 09:10 EDT

Liverpool head into the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Galatasaray on Tuesday with almost a full squad. Alisson Becker was unable to finish Monday’s training session and has been dropped from the squad. Giorgi Mamardashvili will start in goal for Reds in Istanbul.

Mac Allister fit after injury scare

There was some good news, concerning Alexis Mac Allister, who was forced off late in Friday’s FA Cup win over Wolves following a collision.

Manager Arne Slot hinted the Argentine hadn’t suffered a serious injury after the cup victory. That now appears to be confirmed, with Mac Allister training as normal in Turkey.

Wirtz and Frimpong pushing for starts

Florian Wirtz is back in contention to start. The German made his return from the bench at Molineux, playing the final 21 minutes after missing three games because of a back issue.

Jeremie Frimpong is also pushing for a starting spot at right-back after coming on alongside Wirtz on Friday, continuing his comeback from a recent hamstring problem.

Minimal absences in Istanbul

Alisson Becker, Federico Chiesa and Trey Nyoni were the only absentees from Monday’s training session. The latter two would have been unlikely to start in any case.

Chiesa has made 29 appearances for Liverpool this season, but only five as a starter. Two of those starts came in the FA Cup and two in the EFL Cup. The Italian attacker, an unused substitute against Wolves on Friday, has averaged less than 23 minutes per appearance.

Eighteen-year-old Nyoni has played nine first-team games, most recently taking the field for eight minutes in the win at Molineux. The midfielder has started twice, both in the EFL Cup.

Preparing for the #UCL last-16 ✨ pic.twitter.com/ercLXsz7bR
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 9, 2026

Long-term injury victims Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley, and Wataru Endo remain sidelined.

Slot targets milestone win

Tuesday’s game against Galatasaray will be Slot’s 100th in charge of Liverpool. A victory would be his 63rd, surpassing club legend Kenny Dalglish’s record of 62 wins.