Klopp: No Arsenal clues in Barcelona or Mainz line-ups
Jürgen Klopp insists the line-ups he selects against Barcelona and Mainz this weekend will give no indication of who will start against Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League season, maintaining places are still very much up for grabs at the Emirates.
The Reds tackle Barcelona at Wembley on Saturday in an International Champions Cup encounter before jetting off to Germany to face Mainz the following day.
Given the proximity of the two games, Klopp is likely to utilise the depth of his squad to ensure each member receives valuable game time ahead of the start of competitive action the following weekend.
However, when speaking to the media at Melwood on Friday, the manager was eager to emphasise that no-one should read too much into who starts against either side, least of all the players themselves.
Instead, Klopp is keen to see his charges aiming to play their way into contention for a berth at Arsenal on August 14.
Klopp said: “A few players have only had 10 days’ training and so Barcelona is quite early, Mainz is only one day later so it’s a real challenge for us and especially for a few players.
“It’s football and everything can happen in one week. It’s not that I will say the Barcelona team is the team who will start against Arsenal and the Mainz team can fight for the 12 to 18 positions. It is not like this.
“My door is open, especially for line-up and squad. Hopefully we will have more than 18 players for next week’s squad.
"I will watch both games. I don’t want to make pressure, but it is like it is. If I see a player who is too disappointed he did not start against Barcelona and keeps this in the game against Mainz, then it’s the first mistake he could make because he hasn’t understood what it is about.
“Both of the games are friendlies, but it’s all about getting into the best shape you can. That’s really important for me and I want to see all the potential, all the fitness at this moment and a working attitude, which is very good in training but then especially in a situation like this.
“It is very important for me – if the player feels it is a difficult situation not to be a part of the starting line-up against Barcelona but then playing against Mainz, he obviously needs to learn a few things still and then I am more of a teacher than a coach. That’s how I see it.
“Until now there is no decision about the line-up. Hopefully we can make this decision next week and then it will depend on all the things – who played, how often together, what worked in which situation, what will work for the Arsenal game, which fitness level this player and that player are at...
“They are different and hopefully a few players go in the first week with five-and-a-half weeks’ pre-season without injury, so that means they are in a better position. But Arsenal is only one game and a few days later we have the next game, so we can use this time again.
“Hopefully we have the situation where we can really make the choice and don’t have to select a certain XI because we don’t have anyone else.”