'My idea for the line-up is to beat Stoke - nothing else'
Jürgen Klopp’s team selection for Saturday’s meeting with Stoke City will be based entirely on his determination to get the three points.
This weekend’s Premier League game against the Potters falls in between the two legs of the Reds’ Champions League semi-final tie with AS Roma, with Klopp’s side taking a 5-2 lead into the second fixture at Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
But that impending trip to the Italian capital will have no bearing on who the manager opts to field for the fixture with Paul Lambert’s team.
“We have not a lot of time between the games so I prefer to wait until the last second until I have to make the decisions. That’s about the boys who have a few little things [fitness issues] from the [Roma] game,” Klopp said at Friday’s pre-match press conference.
“My line-up, or the idea for the line-up is to win the game - that’s the only thing I can think about.
“It’s not about resting players or whatever, we all know that we are quite short of options in a few departments. It’s the longer break of the intense week, we play Tuesday and Saturday then Wednesday again so that’s always OK from a recovery point of view, it’s always good so we could play the same team like we played against Roma if the players are available, that’s the only thing.
“But there will not be 1,000 changes because we don’t have the opportunity and because it’s a Premier League game and it’s very important, obviously, for both sides. So there’s nothing to think about about ‘resting’, it’s only to line up a strong side and try everything to win the game.”
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Several Academy prospects have trained with Klopp’s first-team squad at Melwood in recent weeks, while Liverpool’s injury issues have seen the likes of Conor Masterson, Curtis Jones and Rafael Camacho included in matchday squads.
However, wherever possible, the boss will call on senior players in the closing weeks of the season as the Reds strive to secure a top-four finish.
“In general they [the youngsters] are ready, that’s why we have them around, but it’s all about moments and the situation,” Klopp continued.
“You cannot bring three or four of them in the same moment, they need to be in a really good shape. Unfortunately, Ben [Woodburn], for example, was really ill weeks ago but in this age group it takes a little bit longer to come back to full fitness [and the] others are even younger.
“We still have senior players to sort it. Look, it’s just not possible. Maybe they will be around, they will be in the squad probably and all that stuff, we will see, but… this is, how I learned early in my life, the motherland of fair play. How could we rest three or four players who are able to play because they are not injured then what would other clubs say?
“We have our own targets, our own goals, because of us, but it’s about the fair play of the competition. We cannot - it’s not allowed and should not be allowed, so that’s why we don’t think about it.
“We have our goals and I think everybody meanwhile can imagine that Chelsea are able to win all of their last games.
“We play them in a week after we’ve played in Rome [and] nobody can go to Chelsea and say ‘we will win for sure’, so it will be an open game, of course.
“But it’s possible [that Chelsea will win all of their remaining matches] and if it’s possible then we need to make sure that that’s still not enough. And for that, we need points, that’s it and that’s what we are looking for.”