Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions to five.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes the Premier League should follow the Champions League, Carabao Cup and the FA Cup and change its substitution rule. The German tactician stressed that having five subs in a match is necessary with the current fixture congestion.
The Reds’ Champions League Round of 16 second-leg clash against Inter will be their fourth match in nine days. They played Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, February 27, before facing Norwich City in a FA Cup fifth-round clash on Wednesday, March 2. Liverpool then welcomed West Ham for a Premier League encounter on Saturday, March 5 and will now face Inter on Tuesday, March 8.
Highlighting his team’s run of fixtures and the need for a change in substitution rule in his pre-match conference ahead of the Inter clash, Klopp said (h/t BBC):
“It’s essential we go for five subs in the Premier League. If we can make changes in decisive positions like the machine room and the midfield then it’s possible to get some momentum but if not, then it’s not.”
? "It's essential at one point we go again with five subs in the Premier League."
Jurgen Klopp reaffirms the idea of reintroducing five substitutions to the Premier League pic.twitter.com/GA8BmY0Myn
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 7, 2022
The German also hit back on claims that having five subs will favour teams with bigger squad depth. He claimed that the league would see a decrease in injuries in the long run, which benefits everyone. Klopp also stressed that reintroducing the five-sub rule will help protect the top-class players as well.
“It’s not about advantage, it’s about protecting and saving the top-class players,” insisted Klopp. “If we do this, you will see much less injuries over the years and keep players in a better place. We are used to a tough rhythm so the schedule is fine but playing Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday is really tough. We’ve been able to make changes which is why we’ll be ready again.”
The Premier League had decided against continuing with the five-sub rule from the 2020/21 season. They reverted to three changes following a brief period of using the five-sub format when football restarted after Covid-enforced lockdowns.