Jurgen Klopp will be without just three first-team players when Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday.
Liverpool and Real Madrid will meet at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on Saturday for the much-awaited UEFA Champions League final. As Liverpool look to win the competition for the sixth time in their history, Jurgen Klopp has seen his squad’s injury problems ease up considerably.
Joel Matip (thigh) and Joe Gomez (ankle) are still on the sidelines with their respective injuries. But, the Liverpool boss has all his first-choice defenders at his disposal, meaning the duo’s absence isn’t posing much of a problem.
Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk should, thus, start at the heart of the Liverpool defence, with Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold providing a pacy outlet in the wide areas. Behind the back-four, Loris Karius should be retaining his place between the sticks, looking to continue the fine run of form.
The good news comes in midfield, where Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is now the only absentee due to a knee injury. The likes of James Milner (knock), Emre Can (back) and Adam Lallana (hamstring) have all recovered from their respective injuries, which had Klopp exclaiming in his pre-match press conference that he can name his strongest bench for “months”.
“We have the best bench we had for weeks or months tomorrow night so we are in a much better position than weeks ago. We had to go the [hard] way, 11 or 12 players had to play the last six or eight games themselves – not because the others are not good enough but we had no chance really to change because of positions, stuff like that – and they went through it.”
“We are as fresh as we can be after this two weeks; fitness will not be an issue for tomorrow. To win a final, each team in the past needed a bit of luck and that’s what we need for sure tomorrow as well.”
While Can and Lallana are in contention to feature on Saturday, Klopp is likely to leave the duo on the bench. In the midfield three, Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum will be the work horses, while captain Jordan Henderson will sit in front of the backline, screening the defence while setting the tempo of the game.
Upfront, the familiar faces should reunite, with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane starting in the front trio. Dominic Solanke, who broke his Liverpool duck in the final league game against Brighton and Hove Albion should be another option on the bench for Klopp.
