Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp is thinking about West Ham not the FA Cup
By David Gate
Liverpool are at the center of a storm regarding the FA Cup but the thoughts of Jurgen Klopp will already have shifted to the Premier League game at West Ham.
Turn on the TV, radio or internet today and you will hear football pundits and fans arguing and complaining about Liverpool Football Club. Specifically the decision by Jurgen Klopp not to field senior players in the FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury next month.
After the 2-2 draw last night, Klopp made it clear that he would honor the Premier League winter break and give the first team players ample rest. But he also declared he would do that for himself – sending Neil Critchley from the Under 23’s side to manage the replay side.
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This is very similar to what the Reds had to do in December against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup when the senior side were playing in the World Club Cup in Qatar.
The arguing has spilled over from last night into today – dominating the discussion on the amount of fixtures, the pointless nature of replays and the ‘magic of the FA Cup’ .
While the world is working itself up into minor furies about LFC, Klopp himself will have already moved on.
The Reds head to London this week to play West Ham in the Premier League to fulfill the game in hand they have from the fixture moved when they played in Qatar.
A win for Liverpool would see them move 19 points clear of Manchester City with just 14 games left to play. The Reds then play Southampton at Anfield on Saturday before City face Spurs away on Sunday – the points gap could be 20+ at the weekend.
With this excellent opportunity to further cement their commanding lead in the league coming up, Klopp will be giving the FA Cup not a single thought in the next week.
Next. Who Was LFC Man-of-the-Match v Shrewsbury?. dark
I would love for this side to win the FA Cup this season and chase a historic treble with the league and Champions League but not at the expense of winning either of those more important trophies.