Football
ESPN staff 7y

Ibrahimovic returns for Man Utd; Alexander-Arnold in for Liverpool

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to the Manchester United team for Sunday's Premier League clash against Liverpool after recovering from illness, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has been handed his first Premier League start for the Reds.

Ibrahimovic missed the 2-0 EFL Cup semifinal first-leg win over Hull City on Tuesday but has been selected to lead the line for United at Old Trafford by Jose Mourinho after making a full recovery.

United, who are currently on a nine-game winning streak in all competitions, also welcome back Marcos Rojo to the team following injury.

Wayne Rooney, aiming to become United's outright all-time top scorer with one more goal, is on the bench.

Liverpool, meanwhile, bring Alexander-Arnold into the team after Nathaniel Clyne picked up an injury.

"Clyney got this knock on Wednesday night, [in the 1-0 EFL Cup defeat] against Southampton," Klopp told Liverpool's official website. "One of the muscles between his ribs hurts a lot -- too much, actually.

"He can cope with many things and we hoped for the best but then he had this little issue at training yesterday and we had to wait. It was one of the final moments of the session. We spoke this morning and he thought there was no chance. So we made this change."

The Reds have withdrawn Joel Matip from the squad as they have failed to receive clarity from FIFA about the Cameroonian's eligibility while the African Nations Cup is taking place.

Reds captain Jordan Henderson returns after missing the last three matches with a heel problem, while Philippe Coutinho is on the bench for the second game running following his recovery from an ankle injury.

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick, Herrera, Martial, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic

Manchester United substitutes: Romero, Blind, Smalling, Fellaini, Mata, Rashford, Rooney

Liverpool XI: Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Firmino, Origi

Liverpool substitutes: Karius, Gomez, Moreno, Stewart, Ejaria, Coutinho, Sturridge

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