Federico Chiesa named in Liverpool squad ahead of potential debut
- Federico Chiesa awaiting Liverpool debut following Juventus transfer
- Winger wasn't even named on bench for Nottingham Forest defeat
- Now included in travelling squad for Champions League matchday one
Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa is in with a chance of making his debut for the club in this week's Champions League opener against AC Milan at San Siro.
Chiesa completed a summer deadline day transfer from Juventus last month but, having not played competitive football since June, he wasn't on the bench for the shock defeat against Nottingham Forest. The belief is Arne Slot is taking a cautious approach regarding the Italian's fitness.
The Reds boss has named a 23-player squad for the midweek trip to Milan and Chiesa is included this time, potentially about to make his Liverpool bow back in his homeland.
A start is unlikely given a lack of recent action, as well as the competition for attacking places in Slot's lineup, but fans will certainly be keen to see Liverpool's only summer signing get onto the pitch.
The group departed from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool on Monday afternoon, with training on the San Siro pitch to follow in the evening, before kick-off on Tuesday night.
23-player Liverpool squad vs AC Milan – Champions League
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Caoimhin Kelleher, Vitezslav Jaros.
Defenders: Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley.
Midfielders: Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Tyler Morton.
Forwards: Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota.
This is the first of eight ‘league phase’ matches that Liverpool will play in the reformatted Champions League between now and the end of January. In addition to Milan, the Reds are to face Bologna, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Girona, Lille and PSV Eindhoven.
Even though each club only face eight opponents, all 36 competing sides will be ranked in one long league table. The top 24 will progress to the knockout stages, with the top eight of those gaining an automatic bye to the last 16 and reducing their overall fixture load by two games.
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