Jordan Henderson should have done enough against Southampton to start for Liverpool in their Champions League Quarter-Final first leg tie against Porto.
Liverpool would have definitely smiled a bit at their luck after avoiding all of the comparably elite teams left in the competition to draw FC Porto for the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. But, the Portuguese giants will be looking to advance to the semis themselves, something they have rarely achieved. Jurgen Klopp had some good news for the fans ahead of the fixture.
The Liverpool manager said in his pre-match conference that Joe Gomez is training and fit. But, he added that it would be good for the Englishman to continue with the training sessions for now, having come back from a long injury layoff.
“He could be maybe [available] but for him it’s better to have more sessions. Joe needs that, he is not long enough in training. If we don’t struggle players-wise, that we don’t have enough, then we should not think about Joe for the next one or two weeks because now he needs really proper training.”
This means that Gomez is unlikely to feature. Andrew Robertson is suspended, which means James Milner will drop into the back four to fill the void. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk picked up slight knocks this past weekend, but Klopp confirmed that the two stars, along with midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum are all fit to feature against FC Porto.
“We had little problems after the game, back problems here, Gini Wijnaldum a little back problem, Joel [Matip], I think even Virgil [van Dijk] from a fall on the ground. But they all should be OK, hopefully.”
Wijnaldum should retain his spot in midfield. Jordan Henderson starred as a substitute against Southampton and the Liverpool captain should come back into the midfield, replacing Naby Keita. Milner dropping back will mean Fabinho keeps his place, with the Brazilian preferred over the Guinean mostly down to industry and recent form.
In attack, Klopp might be tempted to rotate. But, for now, the Reds boss should start all three of his mega stars – Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi though, are tipped to come on at some point in the second half to preserve the trio’s fitness levels and add fresh pair of legs in attack.
Jordan Henderson should have done enough against Southampton to start for Liverpool in their Champions League Quarter-Final first leg tie against Porto.
Liverpool would have definitely smiled a bit at their luck after avoiding all of the comparably elite teams left in the competition to draw FC Porto for the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. But, the Portuguese giants will be looking to advance to the semis themselves, something they have rarely achieved. Jurgen Klopp had some good news for the fans ahead of the fixture.
The Liverpool manager said in his pre-match conference that Joe Gomez is training and fit. But, he added that it would be good for the Englishman to continue with the training sessions for now, having come back from a long injury layoff.
“He could be maybe [available] but for him it’s better to have more sessions. Joe needs that, he is not long enough in training. If we don’t struggle players-wise, that we don’t have enough, then we should not think about Joe for the next one or two weeks because now he needs really proper training.”
This means that Gomez is unlikely to feature. Andrew Robertson is suspended, which means James Milner will drop into the back four to fill the void. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk picked up slight knocks this past weekend, but Klopp confirmed that the two stars, along with midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum are all fit to feature against FC Porto.
“We had little problems after the game, back problems here, Gini Wijnaldum a little back problem, Joel [Matip], I think even Virgil [van Dijk] from a fall on the ground. But they all should be OK, hopefully.”
Wijnaldum should retain his spot in midfield. Jordan Henderson starred as a substitute against Southampton and the Liverpool captain should come back into the midfield, replacing Naby Keita. Milner dropping back will mean Fabinho keeps his place, with the Brazilian preferred over the Guinean mostly down to industry and recent form.
In attack, Klopp might be tempted to rotate. But, for now, the Reds boss should start all three of his mega stars – Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi though, are tipped to come on at some point in the second half to preserve the trio’s fitness levels and add fresh pair of legs in attack.