Jurgen Klopp has shared that Liverpool have ‘injured’ and ‘half-fit’ players ahead of their Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Liverpool’s season went from bad to worse on Saturday when they suffered a 2-1 home loss to Leeds United at Anfield – ending their 30-game unbeaten run on home soil in the Premier League.
The Reds are already through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be huge pressure and eyes on their mouthwatering encounter against high-flying Napoli on Tuesday night.
Luciano Spalletti’s side are sitting top of Serie A, scoring goals for fun and are yet to taste defeat, not forgetting that they outclassed Klopp’s players in Naples during the reverse fixture.
Once that is over, Liverpool will then have a very important game against Antonio Conte’s Tottenham in north London, Spurs are already ten points ahead of the Merseyside club.
Klopp spoke about the above two fixtures and how his team have to ‘fight through’ their current situation, but now is not the time for his underperforming side to have an ‘overhaul’, as he told his press conference.
“The situation is like this, there is no excuse for it or whatever,” said Klopp. “But we have the problem from the first day with injuries or half-fit players that aren’t injured.
“That’s what we carry with us, at the moment. That’s why some players play too often and other players have to play too early. That’s the situation.
“The next game is already waiting. You might say, Naples, we are already through in the group, it’s a home game, Liverpool against Napoli and we should put in a proper performance, I would say.
“But we need 11 starters, then a few days later, we play away at Tottenham, so that’s our situation. It’s not now for a main overhaul or time for all these kinds of things. No, you have to fight through and you have to fight for momentum, confidence and security.”
LIVERPOOL THE UNDERDOGS?
In years gone by, Liverpool have always been the top performers when comparing the Merseyside club with Tottenham.
But, it might be a case of the tables now turning, and ahead of Sunday’s game, Liverpool will go in as underdogs.
On one hand, the Reds can’t afford to be losing three games on the bounce, but on the other, it becomes a very dangerous game for the north London club.
Antonio Conte’s side have lost two of their last three league games and it’s not yet known what mood they will be in given they have a huge Champions League clash against Marseille on Tuesday night.
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