Liverpool’s Luis Diaz will miss the first leg against Real Madrid with knee injury

Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz will not be available when his team hosts Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League’s Round of 16 after suffering a knee injury during this FIFA break. Diaz will be out three months, meaning that he could potentially recover in time for the return leg at the Bernabeu if everything goes according to plan.

Diaz is a crucial player for Liverpool, even more so now that Klopp doesn’t have Sadio Mane on his squad. He has been injured for most of the 2022-2023 season and Liverpool have missed him, as they are currently sixth in the Premier League table.

Without him, Klopp will likely start Firmino, Salah and Darwin Nuñez on his attacking line, which means that they will not have a very powerful presence on their left wing. Firmino tends to drop back and let both Salah and Nuñez be a threat in the center, so Madrid’s wingbacks should have a good opportunity to play with an offensive-minded attitude at least during the first leg.