How can Reds replace star against United?

SADIO MANE’S absence will be keenly felt when Liverpool meet historic rivals Manchester United at Anfield tomorrow.

Jurgen Klopp and others at the club would have been looking forward to hitting the reset button after a difficult start to the season. Now, an immediate rival will visit Merseyside happy to face a side without their most effective player.

Since Mane’s debut, Liverpool have averaged 2.2 Premier Leaguegoals with him and just 1.6 goals without. That, in black and white, is why he is so important to them.

His hamstring injury, suffered while on international duty with Senegal at the weekend, means Klopp must re-think his attacking strategy. What are his options?

With Mohamed Salah on board and taking up Mane’s former position, Liverpool can recreate that dynamic of last year. They may even tighten up in the middle of the park as a result. as happened at Newcastle.

Brought in for £35m but yet to make a Premier League start, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be grateful for an extended spell in the side to get his Anfield career going.

Klopp is unlikely to hand out starting berths unless they are deserved and the former Arsenal winger has made little impression with his cameos so far. Yet Oxlade-Chamberlain does have talent and his manager is the one who must harness it.

Liverpool’s shallow squad depth was highlighted at the start of the season as one reason why Klopp could struggle to match last season’s top-four finish.

Already, after one injury at right-back, there is an over-reliance of promising but inexperienced youngsters like Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The loss of Mane may mean the average age of Liverpool’s starting line-up falls further, with Dominic Solanke handed an opportunity to impress from the off.

Solanke enjoyed a good pre-season and has looked threatening in short spurts, while Woodburn has shown an ability to affect games while on international duty with Wales.

To drop either in against United would, again, be a risk, but Klopp will have been prepared for this eventuality when assessing the options within his squad back in August. – The Independent