Klopp confirms Reds set to field different XI in second half of Stuttgart test
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed Liverpool are set to field a different XI in the second half of this evening's friendly with VfB Stuttgart.
The Reds kick off their 2020-21 pre-season programme with a test against the Bundesliga side in Austria and are looking to make wholesale changes throughout.
It means new signing Kostas Tsimikas is in line to make his debut for the club after joining from Olympiacos earlier this month.
Asked whether to expect another XI after the interval, the boss told Liverpoolfc.com: "We will change completely in half-time.
"Gini on six in the second half makes sense because Hendo is not here and if something happens he should've played it at least once – because apart from Fabinho he's then the option for us. So that's the reason.
"Then with Gini and Millie in the second half is experience and leadership on the pitch for a pretty young side. But that's it pretty much.
"Apart from that we don't change now five million times in this moment. We train in the week, we play in the week, so we should just try to do what we do on as high a level as possible.
"It's strange but we are standing here in Austria and in one week at pretty much the same time we play for silverware. We have another seven days to make sure that we will have the mindset for that."
First-half team: Alisson, Williams, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Keita, Jones, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Second-half team: Adrian, Hoever, Phillips, Van den Berg, Tsimikas, Wijnaldum, Milner, Grujic, Elliott, Minamino, Brewster.
Other substitutes: Kelleher, Koumetio.