Boss rules out wholesale changes at Burton
Jürgen Klopp will not make wholesale changes for Liverpool's EFL Cup tie at Burton Albion tomorrow night.
The Reds take on Nigel Clough’s Championship outfit just three days after their Premier League defeat at Burnley and four days before this weekend’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
However, the manager does not see the need to rest any of his players at Pirelli Stadium as Liverpool seek to bounce back from the disappointment of Turf Moor.
“Yes, of course we’ll make changes, but not every change,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“It depends a little bit what the doctor will tell me in a few minutes, but it’s not likely that we’ll change seven or eight positions because I’m not sure we could. That’s not the plan.
“It’s another game, an important game, so we have to show that we can do better than last Saturday, of course.”
Klopp went on to say that he has not decided who will feature in his starting XI at Burton with the season still very much in its infancy.
“Of course we respect the opponent but it’s not the moment to rest somebody, but we have a few players now in a good shape and they have two weeks more pre-season,” he added.
“When they are healthy and fit, then we have to give them a chance of course, that’s how it is. If we think that they can help us then we will make a change but, like I said, [playing] Saturday and Tuesday, today is Monday so it’s not the highest intensity of training.
“So it’s not like you can train so good that I think, ‘OK, he should be in the line-up’. It’s about which kind of opportunities we have; who can be used, who is in what shape, and that’s what we try to figure out in the next 24 hours.”
Despite the quick turnaround after Burnley, Klopp has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Staffordshire.
The boss continued: “No real injuries, [you could call them] ‘issues’ if you want? OK, I could now name a few names but they can still play, it’s possible, and I have not made a final decision.
“At the moment I’d say everyone who was available last week is available, plus one or two players if we need them.
“We have a few players with longer injuries, like Lucas Leiva. They are not back in training, so if we have other players we can use we should not force it.”