Jurgen Klopp must back his youngsters against Chelsea
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp must trust his youngsters against Chelsea in the massive mid-week Premier League clash.
Blues’ manager Thomas Tuchel’s side will be ready and rarin ta go here and you can expect his side to be hungry and well managed since he took the reins just a month ago. He is a good tactician and the mental chess with his Teutonic counterpart in Klopp will be interesting to see.
Both managers worked together at Dortmund earlier in the decade and know each other’s styles of play and formations quite well.
Liverpool need to make some changes
I actually believe Jurgen will have faith and trust in the young defenders, and field Fabinho in the 6, giving Gini a much-needed break, and adding a resurgent Naby Kieta with Thiago in the midfield for the opening half.
This gives him Wijnaldum and Jones in reserve, along with Bobby Firmino if Jota gets the start. An interesting conundrum to be sure, and one Klopp will need to have sorted come the opening whistle on Thursday.
Jota was supposed to be involved with the squad for the Sheffeld United game, but came down with an illness and was forced to miss out. It’ll be interesting to see how that has impacted his timeline for recovery, and whether he’s involved against Chelsea.
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A win here, for the Reds, will stop the longest home losing streak in a generation and will signify a renewed commitment to establishing their bonafides to capture the much-lauded top-four spot.
A must-win game for Liverpool
Failure to do so will cost the club dearly, both from a financial standpoint and in the reckoning for their summer transfer plans and opportunities. Their choices for new blood in the squad will be severely limited without Champions League football.
So Liverpool have a whole lot riding on this one and how Klopp solves his teamsheet dilemma will go a long way to determine how the final third of the campaign shapes up. No pressure here Jurgen, not really, give the young lads a shot to justify your trust and faith to get the job done here.
By Paul Landwehr. Additional reporting by Russell Hughes.