Liverpool duo Joël Matip and Lucas Leiva have boosted their chances of featuring in Sunday's Premier League tie with Crystal Palace after initial fears over the duo's fitness.

Jürgen Klopp told his pre-match press conference on Thursday that the pair, as well as Ragnar Klavan, hadn't trained all week and were doubts for the visit of Palace at Anfield this weekend.

Matip and Lucas trained with coaches away from their team-mates on Friday as they continue their respective rehabilitations, but are thought to have improved significantly to give themselves a chance of featuring against Sam Allardyce's side.

Klavan also worked away from the group outside but is also facing a battle to be involved against Palace having suffered from a knee ligament issue which Klopp described as "a small problem."

The Reds boss explained that Matip and Lucas had been suffering from "muscle problems" that they picked up in last weekend's victory away at West Bromwich Albion, which Klavan missed out on.

Klopp said: "We have to find a solution for the weekend. It's not 100 per-cent Lucas cannot play, it's not 100 per-cent Joel cannot play, it's not 100 per-cent that Ragnar cannot play."

Reds could look to Gomez if Matip ruled out

He also cited Joe Gomez as a potential replacement, despite the teenage defender having not played for Liverpool in the Premier League since September 2015 before a long-term knee injury.

Klopp said that he "played well again" for the club's under-23s in their Premier League 2 win over Leicester City on Monday, adding that he "has made big steps in the last few weeks" and they "will see" if he can play.

The German also revealed his frustrations at being unable to field a regular centre-back pairing.

Matip and Dejan Lovren are unbeaten together in the Premier League but have started just 13 of Liverpool's 33 top-flight games, Klopp saying: "Of course it would help if you could play consistently the same couple, that would be nice."

But he declared that if the club can't then "it's not about moaning" but rather "finding a solution", leaping to the defence of his players as he said: "It's not about the boys. It's not that they said 'Okay, one game, now give me two weeks break'. We had a few unlucky things. Nothing was because of intensity [It was] A knock here, a knock there."

Klopp added that while it is "already clear" Liverpool have "struggled a little bit" going into the Palace clash, they "will have a solution for sure."

Klopp will hope that Matip and Lucas can prove their fitness in time to keep their starting places rather than having to start Gomez alongside Lovren and one of Trent Alexander-Arnold or Marko Grujić in place of Lucas in midfield.

Academy prospect Rhian Brewster was also among the senior squad at Melwood on Friday, the 17-year-old having scored one and set up two in the U23s' 3-1 win at Leicester this week.

Highly-rated Brewster only first broke into the club's Under-18s at the start of the season but has been accelerated through the ranks due to his development.

The striker also scored a hat-trick in a behind-closed-doors friendly, which included first-team players, against Accrington Stanley at Liverpool's training base earlier in the week.

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.