The Reds return to action in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup following the break from games due to the World Cup.
Liverpool travel to Etihad Stadium to take on Pep Guardiola’s outfit, with kick-off set for 8pm GMT, and have a strong complement of players to choose from.
“First of all, because it’s the League Cup I want to mention Kaide Gordon,” Lijnders told Liverpoolfc.com.
“[We] didn’t mention him in a long time, he went with us to Dubai and started running [for the] first time. We know with these long-term injuries, where there is a lot of uncertainty, that he deserves a mention as well because the boy is very professional and gives everything.
“I just hope we can see him back without putting pressure on the boy, it’s great to see him on the pitch [and] just to tell him as well that we didn’t forget him. Even when new boys are coming up and flying and making big steps, we never will forget the old young ones, basically.
“Then Joel and Naby are in full team training - it’s good. Curtis is one week away from team training and Diogo is inside the timeframe we think. So it’s going well, he was there in Dubai - he was in all the meetings and video meetings. That was good. And of course, Luis Diaz is not available and that’s it.”
On the plan for the players who were involved at the World Cup, he added: “The plan for all of them was to have a certain amount of time off. The boys who were not at the World Cup, [it was] the same, to have time off and really recharge and get some sun.
“Then [it was] the training camp in Dubai, then the boys [who] went out early in the World Cup came already to Dubai and the ones who went out late, they reported two days ago.”