Keep finding solutions until the end, Jurgen Klopp urges injury-hit Liverpool

LONDON – Jurgen Klopp has urged his Liverpool players to put aside their injury woes and find every “solution” to win games, as he prepares to take his English Premier League leaders to Nottingham Forest on March 2.

The Reds are top of the standings on 60 points, just one more than champions Manchester City and two ahead of Arsenal in what is shaping up to be the closest title race for years with 12 games left.

Klopp’s men, who have won their last five matches in all competitions that included the League Cup final win over Chelsea last weekend, will hope to build on momentum.

They beat Championship side Southampton 3-0 in the FA Cup fifth round in midweek, and are still on course to win the quadruple – including the Europa League – this season, but injuries could be a stumbling block.

“It was the Brentford game (4-1 win) we knew the situation became more tricky (because of injuries),” Klopp said.

“Then we found a solution for Luton (also winning 4-1 but only after fighting back from 1-0 down), found a way, won it impressively and it was the same with the final (beating Chelsea 1-0 in extra time).

“Then came Southampton... and we’ll try the same in Nottingham. When you’re not in your best moments, you have to keep the game open until you can win it. Now we play Forest and we have to find solutions.”

Liverpool could be without the unfit Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez, while Mohamed Salah, Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Joel Matip, Ben Doak, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker are all set to miss out.

When asked about the quadruple, Klopp said: “We don’t think about it for one second. It’s not important. We try to win the next game. Take it game by game. It’s not a phrase journalists like too much but we can’t do it differently.”

While Liverpool have been dominant in recent weeks despite their injuries, they must be on their toes against Forest, who are proving to be the Reds’ nemesis when playing at the City Ground.

Klopp’s men beat their opponents 3-0 at Anfield in October, but they have failed to win their last 13 away fixtures against the Tricky Trees, including all six trips in the Premier League era.

But the positive is Liverpool have won seven of their last eight Premier League games, scoring at least three goals in their previous six victories, and it would be a huge upset should they fail to beat the 17th-placed Forest.

Klopp, however, is taking nothing for granted.

“We look at the opponent and roughly know what to expect. It’s not been easy for teams (at Forest) with the counter-attacking threat they have,” he said.

“Protection is massive for us. We have to control that part of the game as well.”

As for Forest, manager Nuno Espirito Santo will miss the injured Ibrahim Sangare, Ola Aina, Willy Boly, Nuno Tavares and Chris Wood. In Wood’s absence, Taiwo Awoniyi – who scored in the 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture last season – will spearhead the team’s attack.

With their dreams of an unlikely Wembley appearance dashed in midweek after their 1-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester United, the hosts will now focus on battling relegation in the league.

A damaging 4-2 loss to Aston Villa on Feb 27 left Forest just four points above the drop and 18th-placed Luton Town also have a game in hand.

Nuno’s side have won just one of their last six Premier League matches, but they have scored in all nine of their league games under the Portuguese manager (17 goals in total).

“It will require a lot of energy from us and we have to prepare hard for it,” the Portuguese said of facing Liverpool.

“We need to be clinical with the chances we have and control the game because they have real speed and quality. It will require a lot of effort from us, it will be a difficult one but we look forward to it.”