Football: Klopp warns about an intense year as injuries are taking toll
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Liverpool suffered a 3-2 fourth-round League Cup loss at Manchester City.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – As the Premier League returns and approaches the turn of the year, Jurgen Klopp has predicted that 2023 will be intense for players coming back from the World Cup.
The Liverpool manager is preparing for his side’s trip to Aston Villa on Monday, with his team in sixth place after a disappointing start to the season and face a side who have moved up to 12th following the appointment of Unai Emery as manager in October.
“For the players who played in the World Cup, the whole year will be incredibly intense,” Klopp said on Friday, following his side’s 3-2 League Cup fourth-round loss at Manchester City the previous evening.
“That’s really, really, really tough. We will have to see how we deal with that. We’ll be really careful with the information we get.
“That makes planning really difficult for the next game because we were 100 per cent clear what we want to do against City and then you have to change in the last second pretty much, that’s not cool but it’s the situation, and that might happen against Villa as well, so we need to be flexible.”
Klopp added that midfielder James Milner, who was substituted after 38 minutes of the loss at City due to a hamstring injury, would be out for a few days along with forward Roberto Firmino, who is struggling with a calf injury.
“Millie (Milner) didn’t get better since then – he will be out for a couple of games. Same for Bobby (Firmino),” he said.
“Trent (Alexander-Arnold) hopefully will be better. Hasn’t taken part in a full session yet.”
Klopp also expects Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil van Dijk to be ready for Villa.
Despite the defeat by City, Klopp found some elements of his side’s performance encouraging as they seek to climb up the league table.
“We have left a gap between us and much more exciting positions in the table. We have to chase. I saw good signs last night, I wasn’t happy with everything, our counter-press was pretty much non-existent, which I don’t like,” Klopp said.
“We know Villa will be a massive test. A tough place to go anyway but now especially. But for them it’s not that easy as well.
“There is a lot to come, we don’t think about the break any more. It’s a start for something new and building on the things we’ve done so far and knowing and expecting that we can do better – starting on Boxing Day.”
Liverpool were in good form before the World Cup break, beating Tottenham and Southampton in the Premier League.
The Reds have defeated Villa in their last three league meetings, but Emery has won his first two top-flight matches since he was appointed, so Klopp can expect a tough test against the former Arsenal boss.
Emery had already plotted a way to beat the Reds when he spoke on Friday. “They’re a difficult team with the amazing way they play. Last year, I faced them with Villarreal in the Champions League semi-finals and lost twice,” he said.
“On Boxing Day, it’s going to be different. They started the league with some doubts; they have 22 points and we have 18.
“If we think we can beat them, we can be really close to them. If we get our best performance, we can do it. We will be with our fans in our stadium at Villa Park and it’s going to be a very special match.”
He also praised goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s performance at the World Cup for Argentina, but said he will have a discussion with him about his attitude during the celebrations ahead of the EPL’s resumption. REUTERS
