Jurgen Klopp will be without three first-team players when Liverpool visit Wembley to take on Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League football will return with a bang after the international break this weekend, with Tottenham and Liverpool locking horns at Wembley in Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off. Last year’s thrashing in the corresponding fixture would be fresh in the mind of Jurgen Klopp, although he has a strong side this time around.
But, the big problem for the Liverpool boss this time around is the fact that his men have to play seven times in the space of 23 days. And, Klopp admitted in his pre-match press conference that he will have to bank on his entire squad over the next month, in what should be a taxing period for the Reds.
“Of course, we have to. We will see exactly how we can do it. It is a big misunderstanding that we will plan for the game tomorrow and [also] think about the game after and the game after. That’s too complicated; you have to go into the next game and see who you can choose. That’s it – you always try to have your best team.”
Klopp though, is likely to stick with his strongest side when they pay a visit to Tottenham. On Saturday, the Liverpool boss will be without three first-team players, with Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana still working their way back to peak fitness, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will play no part this season due to a long-term knee injury.
In Lovren’s absence, Joe Gomez has done a splendid job, sharing a strong understanding with Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Liverpool defence. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson should be the full-backs.
Meanwhile, Simon Mignolet is fit and available after recovering from a hand injury. But, the Belgian is likely to remain as the deputy to Alisson, who should start despite his blunder last time around against Leicester City.
In midfield, Jordan Henderson is expected to drop to the bench once again, with Naby Keita replacing him in the starting lineup. In the Liverpool captain’s stead, Georginio Wijnaldum should assume the no. 6 role, looking to keep a check on Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen.
Upfront, there are unlikely to be any changes, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino holding the key to possibly beating Tottenham on Saturday. One player, meanwhile, who has had a tough time in the early stages of the season is Fabinho, about whose situation Klopp shed some light on.
“It’s absolutely no problem. I don’t like the situation; it’s not that I like to say to Fabinho, who is full of energy and desire and wants to be involved, ‘you are not involved this weekend’. That’s not nice, it’s only the job to do sometimes. We have players that worked together now for much longer; he comes from another league, a completely different system which Monaco played, to us.”
The Brazilian international is likely to be excluded from the starting lineup once again against Tottenham, although one can expect him to be in contention when Liverpool return to Champions League action next week.
