Liverpool confirm Marseille squad as Mo Salah returns but key player missing

Liverpool will head to Marseille for their Champions League clash with Mohamed Salah back amongst their ranks but Ibrahima Konate will not travel with the squad

Liverpool have welcomed Mohamed Salah back to their squad as they head to Marseille for their penultimate Champions League fixture with their hopes still in their own hands.

Despite a wobble earlier this season the Reds are still among the sides poised to qualify for the knockouts, albeit they would go into the play-off stage as things stand. Liverpool have Salah back on Merseyside after he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.

The forward, who fell short with his country once again, took part in an open training session on Tuesday and will bolster Arne Slot's options ahead of their trip to the Stade Velodrome. He has been included in a 20-man travelling party that departed the John Lennon Airport on Tuesday afternoon.

One man who wasn't present was Ibrahima Konate. The defender will not play in his homeland as things stand but has already returned to France with his absence attributed to a family issue. In his absence Joe Gomez is likely to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of defence

Liverpool's squad included three goalkeepers with Giorgi Mamardashvili and Freddie Woodman providing cover for Alisson Becker. Teenagers Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni are also included.

The Reds continue to be without long-term absentees Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni. Bradley is the most recent of those to find himself sidelined after getting injured at Arsenal. Isak was also injured in north London, back when Liverpool won at Tottenham.

Slot's side claimed a much needed victory last time out as they downed Inter Milan late on at the San Siro. They were awarded a controversial late penalty, which Dominik Szoboszlai scored to land them all three points in Italy.

The Hungarian has top scored for Liverpool in Europe this season and will hope to set them up nicely for their final group clash against Qarabag in a weeks time. The Reds will be hot favourites to secure three points there with automatic passage into the last 16 still a very realistic possibility.

Should Van Dijk, as is expected, start in the south of France that he would make his 350th Liverpool appearance. In doing so he would become just the 50th man in Reds history to reach the landmark.

Liverpool travelling squad for Marseille clash: Alisson, Gomez, Endo, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo, Ekitike, Mamardashvili, Robertson, Woodman, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Ngumoha.