Jurgen Klopp has suggested he will rotate his squad as Liverpool prepare to take on Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at Anfield.
The Reds welcome Sean Dyche’s side to Merseyside for a 3pm (BST) kickoff, looking to respond to last weekend’s 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Man City.
Having played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Klopp having made just three changes for that clash, fatigue is a certainty.
And speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Burnley, the German stressed that he needed “freshness in mind and in legs” for a chance of sealing the three points.
“Everybody knows that [Burnley] had two away games [so far] and in these two away games they got four points, from Chelsea and Tottenham,” he said.
“That’s something I have to consider when I think about the lineup, we need freshness in mind and in legs.
“There will be really small spaces, not a lot of easy situations to outplay them.
“That’s proper work, shooting in the right moments, passing in the right moments, crossing in the right spaces.
“It’s really interesting to play them, because they are always on a really high level since I’ve been in the league.”
Klopp has a host of options to turn to despite the absence of Sadio Mane through suspension, with Andrew Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Philippe Coutinho among those available.
Ragnar Klavan, James Milner, Marko Grujic, Dominic Solanke and Daniel Sturridge could also come into contention, and Lazar Markovic has been involved in training this month, too.
The German is still without Nathaniel Clyne (back) and Adam Lallana (thigh), however, but Danny Ings is another option to consider.
“It’s too far to think about them,” he told reporters of Clyne and Lallana.
“Ingsy is in training, of course, but Adam and Clyney are too far away—they have to build.
“Maybe Adam can start running this week, or the beginning of next week.
“Clyney is improving a lot but in the moment I’m not sure when he can start training completely normally. Then we obviously need time for the kind of pre-season.”
Klopp has few other injury concerns, but facing three away games over eight days after the visit of Burnley, rotating his lineup is a sensible move to ensure freshness.
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