Liverpool will be without their talisman Philippe Coutinho, who is sidelined with injury, as rumours of his exit continue to gain pace.
Liverpool have a tricky away fixture to kick off their Premier League campaign. Watford have had a brilliant summer transfer window, with several outstanding buys including the arrival of manager Marco Silva. And, the Reds’ troubles will be compounded by the absence of Coutinho, who has been sidelined with a supposed back injury.
The rumours doing the round though, has it that the Brazilian has issued an official transfer request to push through a move to Barcelona. Jurgen Klopp chose to highlight the reason of his absence in his pre-match conference.
“He has back problems and was not in training since last Friday. So no, he is not available and is also a doubt – if he is not available for Saturday – for Tuesday, unfortunately.”
Our last trip to Watford…
? ‘Presto Overture’ – Mozart ft. Emre Can… pic.twitter.com/A9pPUjGOZT
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 11, 2017
Klopp also iterated that while Daniel Sturridge will be available for the Champions League Playoff match against Hoffenheim on Tuesday, he is likely to sit out the tie against Watford along with the likes of Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne, who are sidelined with injuries to the thigh and back respectively.
The manager did hint at some possible new names in the first-team setup soon, claiming that the youngsters had put on a good show in the pre-season and with injury troubles grasping the key players, it could be time for them to step up.
“Adam Lallana had this injury which is really unlucky for all of us. Clyney had a problem from the first day and now Phil with the back, so that makes it four players and that’s not too cool but now I have to make hard decisions because a few players really showed up in pre-season.”
The full injury update from the boss: https://t.co/6J677fIDqk pic.twitter.com/F1jtenNOvC
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 11, 2017
Jordan Henderson sat out the last pre-season match against Athletic Bilbao due to illness but the manager confirmed that the captain is available for the match and is expected to feature against Marco Silva & co.
“It was only not to go with any risk in Dublin. The Doc told me he was not 100 per cent so we left him at home, but he was part of all sessions and was all good.”
Watford on the other hand, will be eager to take advantage of the roster issues Liverpool are having to deal with as Marco Silva would intend to kick off his managerial journey at Watford with a win over a title aspirant.
