Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has refused to rule out Diogo Jota or Roberto Firmino from playing in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
The Reds have sparked a Premier League title race having beaten Norwich City 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, shortly before Manchester City lost to Tottenham Hotspur.
The focus has to be on the Premier League as a result, with a potential banana skin against Leeds United coming up on Wednesday night.
You just can’t escape the Carabao Cup final though, as Liverpool will take on Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds would love to add a piece of silverware, especially given that Liverpool haven’t won this competition for 10 years.
Jurgen Klopp has to manage his squad accordingly, and his striking decisions are up in their due to a couple of injuries.
Diogo Jota picked up an ankle injury against Inter Milan last week, seemingly giving Roberto Firmino the leading striker role in his absence.
Yet Firmino missed Saturday’s game with Norwich, with Klopp claiming that the Brazilian would be out for ‘a while’ with a muscle problem.
That meant a fluid front three against Norwich of Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah. All three got on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win.
Add in that Divock Origi or Takumi Minamino can also play up top for Liverpool and Klopp has a few options at his disposal.
Klopp has now spoken to Liverpool’s official website about Jota and Firmino, claiming that it’s actually too early to rule them out against Chelsea.
Klopp noted that he saw both players at the AXA Training Centre on Monday, and they ‘both look great’ – but it’s still just too soon to call whether either will be fit to play.
“Yes, it’s too early,” said Klopp. “I don’t even know if it will be a late decision or not; how I said, it’s too early. I saw them both today, they both look great – but those two always look great.”
“We have to see how the specific issues develop but we obviously will try everything,” he added.
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