Liverpool will be missing five players vs Fulham as one Reds ace doesn’t travel to Craven Cottage

Liverpool knows three points is a must against Fulham on Sunday. Jürgen Klopp’s squad looks a lot stronger right now but there are still several faces missing.

Liverpool faces a huge week as it bids to keep its Premier League title hopes alive. The Reds have slipped to third in the table and are now three points off leaders Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s clash with Fulham.

The trip to Craven Cottage marks the first of three away games in the next six days with the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park to come in midweek. That is followed by a visit to West Ham on Saturday with Jürgen Klopp accepting his side probably need to win all six remaining matches.

His side did get back to winning ways against Atalanta on Thursday night but the 1-0 success in Italy was not enough as Liverpool exited the competition at the quarter-final stage.

It means that there will be no final farewell in Dublin, with Liverpool having just six matches remaining of the Klopp era. He heads to Craven Cottage without five players, with Conor Bradley remaining unavailable.

The Reds defender picked up an ankle problem against Crystal Palace last weekend and although scans have shown no serious damage, he is likely to be missing for another couple of weeks. There is a hope that Bradley can feature in the final weeks of the season,

Young midfielder Stefan Bajčetić featured for the Under-21s last week and is continuing his rehabilitation from a lengthy lay-off so hasn’t travelled, while Thiago Alcântara, Joël Matip and Ben Doak remain longer-term absentees for the Reds.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s match, Klopp told Liverpool’s official website: “It is obviously not in our hands, it’s not about that. I think if we would win all our games, yeah, there’s a good chance that we will be champion. If not, yeah, then it’s a good chance that somebody is there. Maybe we only have to win five or whatever, but nobody knows.

“The thing is clear: if you want to be champion in the Premier League, you have to be close to perfection. And if we are not perfect, you have to deal with the setbacks in the best possible way or in the perfect way — and that’s what we are now doing.”