Four of Liverpool’s senior players are set to return from international duty less than 36 hours before the squad travel to Wolves, an issue Jurgen Klopp has already raised.
The Reds made light work of Aston Villa to head into the break with 10 points from a possible 12 to start the 2023/24 campaign.
International fixtures always present risks of injury as we wait nervously for players to return intact, but the turnaround time between games can also often provide the manager with logistical headaches.
The Reds will open this weekend’s Premier League fixtures with a Saturday lunchtime trip to Wolves as club football makes its return, but some of Klopp’s returning squad members will be afforded more rest time than others.
Liverpool’s South American contingent will be in World Cup qualifying action across Tuesday evening and the early hours of Wednesday morning (BST) and will have very little time back on Merseyside before the team travel to Molineux.
The manager voiced his concerns over a potential lack of recovery time for four of his players following the 3-0 win over Aston Villa before they set off for their international commitments.
“Now, international break and pretty much 48 hours after our South Americans play somewhere on the other end of the world we will play against Wolverhampton Wanderers,” commented the boss as he spoke to LFCTV.
“So it will be a tough one, but we have to make sure we are ready and we will give it our all.”
Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez are expected to be in action for Argentina and Uruguay on Tuesday night at 9pm and 10pm respectively as they take on Bolivia and Ecuador.
Luis Diaz will face Chile with Colombia at 1.30am, with Alisson‘s game against Peru with Brazil not set to get underway until 3am.
The squad will travel to Wolves on Friday ahead of the Saturday midday clash, meaning that the South Americans are likely to be on Merseyside for less than 36 hours before they are on the road again once their travel time has been factored in.
Whether it impacts team selection or performance remains to be seen, but the boss will be hoping to pick up where his side left off to make it four Premier League wins on the bounce.
Fan Comments