Jurgen Klopp will continue to rotate his teams heavily in cup competitions, he told the press following last night’s FA Cup 3rd Round victory over Plymouth.
Liverpool won 1-0 thanks to an early Lucas header, but it was by no means an impressive performance.
That being said, the team that ended the game had an average age of less than 22, so it’s no surprise it wasn’t a cakewalk.
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A reporter from the Express asked Klopp if he regretted fielding such a young side, but the manager said he had no other choice due to the demands this January’s fixture list has had on the team, and that he’d do exactly the same next time.
“I named, again, the team I could name. That’s what I always do,” he said.
“Only you judge it as stronger or weaker, I don’t do this. It’s all about who is available. When I have all available, then I can maybe decide about stronger or weaker.
“But if they are not all available, in our situation in the league is the case… we now play Saturday, then Wednesday, then Saturday, then Tuesday.
“If I would always let the same players play, I would be a real idiot. I don’t do it. So, that was the team for today. We will see who we can line up on Saturday.”
Because we got through to the Fourth Round without injuries, Klopp is pretty much at full strength for this weekend’s Premier League tie with Swansea, bar Sadio Mane who’s at the AFCON.
He’ll then pick another strong side to face Southampton midweek, knowing we need to turn around our first-leg deficit in the EFL Cup semi-final, before resting the first-teamers again for the FA Cup tie with Wolves on January 28th.
The best players will then return for the pivotal Premier League clash with current leaders Chelsea on January 31st.
What an end to the month in store for the Reds…