Klopp: We'll make changes for Exeter tie
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed the current injury situation at Liverpool, coupled with their hectic run of fixtures, means he will make changes to his squad for Friday night’s FA Cup tie at Exeter City.
The Reds’ treatment room saw three new additions this week following Tuesday’s clash against Stoke City, with Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure now ruled out of the trip to St James Park tomorrow.
And, due to the number of players currently out of action, Klopp admits it means he’ll be forced to rotate for the third-round tie.
The manager told his pre-match press conference: “I think that’s the thing we have to do now. We have to take the situation like it is and we’ll go to Exeter. I will be there for sure! I will take a few players with me!
“The FA Cup is a great tournament, we know about it, but we have to make the decisions for the Liverpool team, for my team, and so we have to make changes. That’s all I can say because at this moment I don’t know who is available.
“We will train with the team that will play tomorrow and then we will see what happens, but of course we’ll make changes.”
Liverpool have recalled Ryan Kent and Sheyi Ojo from their respective loan stints with Coventry City and Wolverhampton Wanderers this week to bolster the ranks.
Klopp believes the current circumstances should be used as an opportunity by the club’s youngsters to showcase their talents if called upon.
The boss said: “In the last few days, we’ve thought about nothing else other than what we can do in our situation.
“I think the first thing is we take back our own players, that’s normal – especially if they don’t have a perfect situation at the clubs where they are on loan – as these are our players and we have a situation.
“It’s a big chance for the boys. But there’s no pressure because they’re still young. If they do well they can quickly take the next step, but if not they have time. That’s the big – and good – thing when you’re young. That’s what we’ll tell them - we want to work with them and we’ll see what happens.”
Once the Cup tie at Exeter is concluded, Liverpool will begin preparing for the visits of Arsenal and Manchester United next week.
And while Klopp accepts the current situation is a demanding one, it doesn’t mean the Reds are not relishing the challenges ahead.
He explained: “In this moment there is a little bit of work to be honest, and not too much joy! Now it is Exeter. Then we have five or six days until we play again. It’s nearly a break. I can think about flying on holiday!
“Then we play against Arsenal and Manchester United. Of course, they are big games. I have played a few times before against Arsenal, but it’ll be my first against Manchester United. There will be no big space to enjoy all that stuff in the moment.
“But we should not forget what we saw at Stoke – it was a brilliant performance from my team, especially the first half.
“It was great and I think everybody who watches football thought, ‘That’s the kind of football I could love’. That’s very important and I didn’t forget that in all the things that happened afterwards such as thinking about who’d be available for the next game.
“We will always have a team on the pitch. We will always have good players, sometimes with a little bit less experience of course, but we will have a good team. It’s an intensive moment, but I am really looking forward to the next week.”