Liverpool face Arsenal at Anfield in the first leg of their Carabao Cup tie. With a place in the final on the line, it is important to get a positive result in the opening leg.
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Previous meeting with Arsenal
The two sides met at Anfield in the Premier League at the end of November and the Reds won comfortably 4-0. Despite the resounding scoreline, Klopp was quick to praise Arsenal for their efforts so far this season.
“We can use what happened in the previous game to prepare but obviously Arsenal were in a good moment but are now maybe in even better form. They play exciting football, Mikel [Arteta] is doing an exceptional job there. And with a lot of young boys, it is very exciting to watch.
“They were good when we last played, we played a great game, and they are better now, so it is a tricky draw for us.”
“[Having the first leg at home], obviously it does make a difference. But we cannot change this, we couldn’t play last Thursday so here we are.”
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Shape of the squad
Due to a Covid outbreak amongst the squad and coaching team, the first leg was postponed. What should now be the second leg will act as the first leg, with the teams meeting again next Thursday.
Klopp informed us who is available and who is not ahead of this game.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Alisson both trained yesterday. Divock [Origi] and Thiago [Alcantara] are not ready yet. But that is it, all the players who are not injured and test negative are available, so everyone else should be available.
“Harvey Elliot is making really good progress. He is training outside but not yet with the team. It won’t be long until he is back training with the team”
“[Andy] Robertson got a little knock in the Shrewsbury game but is fine.”
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Kaide Gordon as a short-term solution
In the FA Cup game against Shrewsbury, 17-year-old, Kaide Gordon played, scoring his first goal for Liverpool in the tie.
With both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah playing in the AFCON, there may be an opportunity for Gordon to play in the league.
“Kaide is always in our mind because he is an exceptional talent and had a great pre-season. He had a little drop in form which is completely normal for this age. He is here and he is fit so he’s always in my mind and we’ll see where that leads to but obviously the game helped him a lot.”
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Salah contract situation
Liverpool forward, Salah is still yet to sign a new contract to keep him at the club for the long-term future. There has been a lot of talk about his contact over the season, with the Egyptian recently saying that he wants to stay.
Klopp offered his opinion on the situation.
“It is nothing unexpected. I know that Mo [Salah] wants to stay. I want him to stay and that’s the point where we are. These things take time, I cannot change that. But I think it is all in a good place so nothing else to say.”