Jurgen Klopp has intimated that he won’t be unleashing either of Ozan Kabak or Ben Davies in Liverpool’s trip to Leicester City tomorrow.
The Reds visit Brendan Rodgers’s side on the back of a 4-1 thumping by Manchester City last time around.
It was a defeat that put Liverpool 10 points behind City at the summit and barring a miracle, they won’t be defending their title come May.
One big reason for their form this season has been the crisis of centre-back options.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez haven’t kicked a ball for Liverpool since October, while Joel Matip’s latest injury is one that’ll keep him out until next term.
Fabinho, a midfielder, has had to drop back into central defence and has been partnered by the likes of Rhys Williams, Nat Phillips and even Jordan Henderson at times.
Klopp signed Kabak and Davies on transfer deadline day earlier this month and although some Liverpool fans are desperate to see at least one of them in action – particularly Kabak – the German manager has strongly suggested that he won’t be using either against the Foxes.
He said when asked about his two new boys: “Jamie Vardy is a proper challenge – you have to avoid the passes to him. He is a world class player for sure in a specific area of the pitch. We had some sessions together but we have other players available,”
Klopp is right.
Vardy is one of the best strikers in the Premier League and given that Kabak and Davies have zero Premier League experience between them, you could argue that the Liverpool boss might be setting them up for failure if he were to throw them in a deep end tomorrow.
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