Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spoke to the media before his side’s EFL Cup fourth round match against Tottenham at Anfield tomorrow night.
Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet on the bench before the match
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed there will be changes for tomorrow night’s EFL Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham at Anfield, the Liverpool Echo coverage of his press conference reports.
Given the stature of the opponent the temptation could have been to go with a full strength side similar to those that played in the Premier League at the weekend, but Klopp seems intent on making some changes.
He confirmed that Simon Mignolet will make his first appearance in goal for the Reds since the 2-1 win over Chelsea last month but said that for now Loris Karius is the club’s number one.
He told reporters, as reported by the Liverpool Echo: “It’s what I call a luxury problem. Simon wasn’t happy with the situation but you can’t see that in training.
Liverpool’s Loris Karius
“In this moment we have a number one and that’s Loris Karius. That’s the situation. I cannot leave them in doubt.
“After the last international break I spoke to both of them and we made this decision. That’s the ranking. Loris number one, Simon number two.”
Despite that changes are to be made to the side, Klopp restated that this is a competition that his side is aiming to win after losing out to Manchester City in the final last season.
As for his team selection, some players didn’t train on Sunday because of a couple of knocks but there are no real injury concerns following the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.
The Liverpool manager has stressed there is room for improvement despite a positive start to the season which sees them level on points with Arsenal and City at the top of the league.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after the game
“Nothing what we’ve done so far has been close to 100%. There are a lot of things for us to do better.
“If there weren’t things to improve we could go on holiday all week and then just meet on Saturdays.
“Nobody feels that it’s not possible to play better. We can defend better, we can attack better, we can create better. A better balance in the game.”
In the Premier League, Liverpool and Tottenham are separated by just the one point and have played out three consecutive draws – suggesting that tomorrow night’s game could be a tight one.
Klopp offered his assessment, saying: “They are still good. Good defending, good in attacking, not a lot of weaknesses. It will be close, but it’s no problem.”
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp
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