Liverpool suffer injury hammer blow before Man City as four players sidelined

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota is at risk of missing the Premier League title showdown with Manchester City as well as the Champions League clash against Real Madrid due to ongoing fitness issues. Jota has been out of action since picking up an upper body injury caused by Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo during Liverpool's 2-1 victory at home on October 20.

Initially, hopes were high for Jota's return post-international break, with Liverpool set to face Southampton on November 24, followed by clashes with Champions League holders Real Madrid and domestic champions City (December 1st). However, Jota, who has already missed five fixtures and will be absent for the Saturday Premier League game against Aston Villa, may not make a comeback until December's trips to Newcastle United and Everton.

"We expect him back after the international break," Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said on Friday. "Now, after the international break is six or seven months (of the season) to go! " He added, "He will be back one or two weeks after the international break."

READ MORE: Man City given Jack Grealish injury headache that angry Pep Guardiola will hate

READ MORE: Pep Guardiola joke masks unwanted Erling Haaland truth Man City cannot hide from

With Jota unavailable, Slot has had to shuffle his attacking line-up. Darwin Nunez has led the line in three matches, including scoring the decisive goal in the Champions League victory over RB Leipzig, while Luis Diaz bagged a hat-trick as the central striker in the 4-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

For the League Cup triumph at Brighton, Liverpool opted to play without a traditional number nine, reports the Liverpool Echo. Alisson Becker, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are also set to