Liverpool have started the decade at the top of the Premier League, they are 10 points clear of Leicester City in second place with two games in hand over the Foxes. Now on the home straight of a hectic winter schedule, Liverpool need to start battering teams in order to earn some vital rest.
The Reds played an incredible nine games in December. The clogged fixture list stretched the squad to the limit, knackering key players and injuring others – Dejan Lovren was one player that picked up a muscle injury during December.
If Liverpool start battering teams again they will be able to rest their most important players. A case in point is when the Reds went 3-0 up against Bournemouth at the start of December – Jürgen Klopp was able to bring off Andy Robertson for the last 20 minutes, resting him ahead of the crucial tie with Red Bull Salzburg in the week. This also gave valuable first team experience to Curtis Jones.
With the Reds set to take on Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United this month, it could be invaluable for the gaffer if he is able to bring the likes of Sadio Mane and Mo Salah off with time to spare. The less minutes our most important players spend on the pitch before big games the better – we want to minimise fatigue and maximise recovery time.
The last thing that we need going into the second half of the season is injuries to key players – we are miles ahead in the league, it would a gut punch to lose it from here because our squad were dropping like flies.
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