Liverpool will travel to the King Power stadium for the second time this week after enduring a humiliating defeat against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.
The Liverpool manager will have his hands full with defensive worries ahead of their Premier League clash against Leicester City on Saturday. Dejan Lovren is struggling with a back injury while Emre Can and Joel Matip are both doubtful for the clash.
Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana are both recovering from injuries as well. Philippe Coutinho was withdrawn at half-time against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. Although Liverpool are attempting to get him back to his sharpest, he is fully fit and is likely to feature on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane will serve the final game of a three-match ban, which will come as a relief to Liverpool given their struggles when he is unavailable. Simon Mignolet is expected to return to man the goal but Klopp’s central defence will have to be decided late due to the uncertainty surrounding Lovren and Matip.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Klopp discussed his defensive woes. “Ragnar [Klavan] will play the third game in the row if he plays again, Joe [Gomez] was in the centre-half position against Leicester already,” the manager explained.
“I have to wait and we have to train with the boys. They can train today and then we prepare the game. We will see on Saturday – there’s two days to go – which players will be available. It’s a normal challenge. It’s not that it’s worse or better than other situations,” rued Klopp.
With Gomez ruled out of their Champions League tie through suspension, he could fill in at the heart of defence if needed or slot in at right-back. That will also save Trent Alexander-Arnold for their midweek encounter at Spartak Moscow. As far as the midfield is concerned though, Klopp seemingly has more scope for maneuvering.
If Can is cleared to feature, he could start but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one of or even both of Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson. James Milner was rested midweek while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could do with another start to improve his performance on the field.
When it comes to Klopp’s options up front, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Daniel Sturridge are anticipated to make the front three to form Liverpool’s attack.
