Alisson injury leaves door open for Dream Team bosses to back bargain option Caoimhin Kelleher

LIVERPOOL are expected to be without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson (£5m) for the next month at least.

The Brazil international was substituted in the 79th minute against Crystal Palace last Saturday and it has since been confirmed he suffered yet another hamstring injury which is likely to sideline him until the November international break.

Alisson is currently ranked second among Dream Team goalkeepers with 51 points to his name, just four shy of leader David Raya (£5.1m).

But gaffers backing the 32-year-old will have to look elsewhere with the Reds set to fulfil seven fixtures between Gameweeks 8 and 11, before another set of international games.

Vitezslav Jaros replaced Alisson at Selhurst Park in Gameweek 7 and the young Czech keeper made a vital save to preserve Liverpool’s clean sheet to ensure they left South London with three points.

However, Caoimhin Kelleher (£2.3m), who was injured last weekend, is expected to be named as starting keeper for the next month or so.

The Republic of Ireland international enjoyed an impressive run in the team last season when Alisson was sidelined and many Dream Team managers will be tempted to recruit him during the current international break with a view to acquiring some short-term gains.

This strategy is particularly appealing because the 25-year-old is available at such a low price, on account of him being a second-string option ordinarily.

Kelleher has earned 13 points from just two appearances so far in 2024/25, including an impressive ten-point haul against Bournemouth that featured seven saves and a clean sheet.

Dream Team bosses would never wish injury on any player, of course, but there’s no doubt a second-choice keeper temporarily rising up the pecking order represents a significant opportunity.

That being said, Arne Slot’s side face a relatively difficult run of fixtures across the next four Gameweeks.

LIVERPOOL’S FIXTURES FROM GAMEWEEK 8 TO 11:

• Chelsea (h) – Premier League
• RB Leipzig (a) – Champions League
• Arsenal (a) – Premier League
• Brighton (a) – Carabao Cup
• Brighton (h) – Premier League
• Bayer Leverkusen (h) – Champions League
• Aston Villa (h) – Premier League

All the above domestic opponents currently reside in the top six of the table while RB Leipzig are level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

As the only English side to have won six of their first seven league games, Liverpool have been a rich source of Dream Team points to this stage but they may find clean sheets harder to come after the break.

However, at £2.3m many will deem Kelleher worthy of a punt and it’s hard to argue against such a ploy; it’s just that the difficulty of their upcoming schedule means it’s not a complete no-brainer.

Gaffers who go down this route will also have to earmark a furture transfer to replace Kelleher when Alisson is available again at the end of November or early December.

Still, he’s a tempting option for sure…

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk