Arne Slot provides major injury update on key Liverpool duo ahead of double-header against Real Madrid and Man City

Arne Slot has been boosted with captain Virgil van Dijk expected to be fit against former club Southampton on Sunday and Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of the key double-header against Manchester City and Real Madrid next week.

Liverpool's quest to reach the top of the Premier League and Champions League has been accompanied by a spate of injuries, but Slot was able to deliver more positive news on Friday.

Van Dijk missed the Netherlands' match against Bosnia last week for 'medical reasons', while Alexander-Arnold withdrew from the England squad after coming off the field early in Liverpool's final club match against Aston Villa with his hamstring pulled.

'Virgil is a very good training, completely fine. He trains with us,” Slot confirms.

'Trent is not training with us yet, but he will be and we expect him to be back soon.'

Liverpool meet Real Madrid on Wednesday and Manchester City the following Sunday, with Alisson (hamstring) and Diogo Jota (clash) also making progress after being absent since October.

Slot added on player availability: 'Next week we will have to wait and see, because the last week of recovery is always difficult, ranging from isolated training to group sessions.

'It's hard to judge, so I can't say whether it will be one, two or three days. Alisson and Jota I don't expect them to be suitable for that game [Real]Trent, we'll see. He's in between.'

Goalkeeper Alisson has been doing exercises with the goalkeeper coach, who has not played since October 5. Jota was injured against Chelsea later that month but both, plus injured pair Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa, are making good progress and could be involved before Christmas.

Meanwhile, Slot has welcomed Pep Guardiola's decision to stay at Manchester City, saying it is good for the entire Premier League.

The Liverpool boss, who faces Guardiola in a key title game next weekend, is pleased the City manager has agreed to stay at the Etihad until 2027, even though it could make Liverpool's task of winning trophies even more difficult .

“That's good news for City and for the league because everyone wants to have the best manager and players here and he is one of the best, if not the best in the league,” Slot said.

'If you look at what he did, you can honestly say he is the best manager in the league. On the other hand, City have so many quality players if he had decided to leave, I wouldn't have expected them to be at the bottom!

“It will be interesting for us as managers to continue to compete against one of the best we have ever had.”