Liverpool has fewer players at the World Cup than the other major English clubs and Real Madrid, which could be crucial in the second half of the season.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) Lucas Paqueta, Fabinho Tavares, Richarlison Andrade, and Alisson Becker Goalkeeper of Brazil enter the field on November 19, 2019 at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Whatever your feelings about international football, the World Cup is unavoidable. This is especially true for the 2022 edition, which will be held in the middle of the European domestic season for the first time.
Nobody knows what effect it will have on the second half of the 2022/23 season. Clubs will have a mix of players resting and others traveling with their national teams for up to five weeks. Teams that deal best with this unprecedented situation have a good chance of finishing the season strong.
Liverpool has seven players in Qatar, one more than in Russia four years ago, but several fewer than in the two previous World Cups.It's impossible to predict how much action the septet will see over the next month, but Jurgen Klopp has lost fewer players than most of the managers vying for a top-four finish. This could be critical.While Bayern Munich sends the most players of any club in the world (17), Manchester City (and Barcelona) are only one player behind them. Manchester United has 14, Real Madrid has 13, Chelsea has 12, Tottenham has 11, and Arsenal has 10. Only Newcastle United will have fewer players in Qatar than the Reds in terms of teams with the most immediate impact on their hopes for 2022/23. (five).
However, they will most likely be gone for varying lengths of time. It's impossible to predict the exact finishing order of all 32 World Cup teams, but we can use Opta's supercomputer forecast as a good starting point for an estimate.According to their calculations, every Liverpool player should advance to the knockout stage. That is not the case for the three London clubs in the Premier League's big six, where two or three players are expected to leave after only three matches. Chelsea and Tottenham will still have more players in Qatar than the Reds after that point, with Arsenal tied on seven.
The numbers are expected to thin out even more in the Round of 16. Nunez is expected to be Liverpool's only departee at that point, but because his seeding implies he will face Brazil at that point, Darwin may end Alisson and Fabinho's interest in the tournament instead. According to Opta, when the quarter-finals arrive, City will have twice as many players still involved as Liverpool, which may help the Reds in their Carabao Cup tie at the Etihad on December 22. However, because this is expected to be England's final game, the clubs will regain five and two men respectively once the last eight matches are completed. The Netherlands are also likely to exit, which means van Dijk (the only Red captain in Qatar) will be out of the 2022 World Cup.
And there's only about a week left at that point, but what a week with the greatest prize of all on the line.This is where Liverpool's thoughts may turn to Europe rather than domestic matters, as Real Madrid are expected to have eight players still involved, five more than the Reds. Will having so many men on the pitch with Brazil, France, and Spain take its toll on the reigning European champions ahead of their last 16 Champions League match against Liverpool? Kopites will be hoping so.Konate is expected to lose in the semi-finals, but there will be a third/fourth place play-off in any case. We could be down to two South American teams for the final, and it's no coincidence that Brazil is expected to lift the trophy aloft despite the fact that half of their squad plays for Real Madrid or one of England's big six clubs.
At the very least, if Alisson and Fabinho are absent for the duration of the tournament, they may follow in the footsteps of Roger Hunt and Fernando Torres as Liverpool World Cup winners. Klopp, on the other hand, may be keeping a closer eye on the fortunes of players from rival clubs.
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