Klopp open to possibility of playing Trent in midfield for Liverpool
Liverpool have been dealt a double defensive blow after Jurgen Klopp was left without Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate for their Premier League clash against Brentford on Sunday. The Reds had already been hit by several injuries in midfield ahead of the game and the absence of two central defenders left Klopp down to the barebones for the game at Anfield look to bounce back from their midweek defeat.
Gomez started against Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday and played the full 90 minutes in France as a much-changed Liverpool side fell to a shock 3-2 defeat. But it appears the 26-year-old has suffered a minor knock and did not recover in time to be considered for selection.
Konate was also present in the squad but was left out of the starting XI and did not make his way onto the pitch. The Frenchman also has been hampered by a minor injury and was therefore omitted from the squad as a precaution.
Before the game against Brentford, Klopp revealed the pair had picked up separate injury problems and the 55-year-old admitted he did not know how long they would be out of action for.
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“Yeah, both were injuries as well,” the German told Sky Sports when asked about their absence. “We will see how serious it is. But they are unavailable today, so that’s the reason for the changes.
“In this part of the season, a lot of teams struggle a bit with injuries. It’s the same for us in the moment, so that’s how it is and we have to deal with it, and we do that. So far, this week is not the one we dreamed of, I have to say. Two results we don’t like too much, two performances we weren’t too happy with.”
Losing the pair represents a blow for Klopp, as he may have wanted to rotate his squad to keep them fresh. Instead, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip were selected to start, with rising star Jarell Quansah on the bench as back up.
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Klopp was forced to name an extremely youthful bench, with only Luis Diaz above the age of 20 amongst the nine substitutes. He made four changes from the 1-1 draw with Luton, with Van Dijk, Matip, Kostas Tsimikas, and Wataru Endo all coming into the side.
Alexis Mac Allister misses the game through suspension, so Cody Gakpo was primed to start in midfield with Endo taking up the No 6 position previously occupied by the Argentinian.
With Thiago Alcantara, Stejan Bajcetic, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson already injured, Klopp was forced to call upon the kids to make up the numbers for his 20-man squad.
If they manage to extend their 100 per cent record at home this season, Liverpool will move level on points with Arsenal and Manchester City heading into the international break.
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