Loris Karius is set to take up his customary place in goal in a European game when Liverpool host Maribor at Anfield on Wednesday
Liverpool will be aiming to consolidate their place atop Group E in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, when they play hosts to Maribor at Anfield. Ahead of the Matchday 4 encounter, Jurgen Klopp has a fair few problems on his hands,
In fact, the Liverpool boss could be without as many as nine first-team players for the visit of the Slovenian side on Wednesday. Among these, Adam Bogdan (ACL) and Nathaniel Clyne (back) are long-term absentees and will play no part for the Reds this year.
But, attack is the worst hit area, with Philippe Coutinho doubtful due to an abductor strain, and Sadio Mane sidelined till after the international break due to a hamstring injury. At the back, Dejan Lovren (groin), Joe Gomez (knock) and Alberto Moreno (knock) are doubtful for Wednesday as well.
Danny Ward (back) and Adam Lallana (thigh) are the remaining two absentees, with the duo nearing their return to fitness. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Klopp provided an elaborate update on the absentees from his squad as talked about several of the aforementioned players, starting with Coutinho.
Klopp: “Tonight or tomorrow will be the first time when I think about our line-up. We will line up tomorrow our strongest side.” pic.twitter.com/wljlhK7L1F
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 31, 2017
“To be honest, it doesn’t look like, but yesterday he was on the pitch running. Everything looks good, but not sure. We’ll see. We didn’t speak about him today so far, it’s quite early and there are still a few hours until we train tonight and a few hours until the game. If he is ready, he is playing. If not, not.”
He continued: “We had a few little issues after the game [against Huddersfield]: of course, before the game Dejan was already out; Joe a little bit, nothing too serious; Alberto Moreno. We really have to look and we need to use each hour. In the end, we will line up the line-up we expect the most of.”
When asked about Mane and Lallana, Klopp said: “Yes, it looks good – both are looking good. Sadio this morning had kind of a clearing session before he comes back to training. We have to see how he will react. The session was good, I heard. Adam will be part of team training during the international break and then we need to see.”
Meanwhile, Klopp also said that he will play his strongest possible side on Wednesday, despite mounting injury concerns, while also confirming that Loris Karius will take up his customary place in goal for a European fixture.
“I don’t think about rotation, I think about who I can line up. That’s absolutely not [the case]. I don’t think we have to rest players – we will not,” he said, while also adding, “Yes, there’s no doubt [that Karius will start].”
Meanwhile, unlike Klopp, Maribor boss Darko Milanic has very few injury concerns on his hands, with just Denis Sme and Luka Zahovic unavailable for the trip to Liverpool.
