Nick Pope may mis Burnley vs Liverpool today. It would be a blow for Sean Dyche’s side but the Reds won’t mind.
It sounds as though Nick Pope is a real doubt to face Liverpool today. Burnley boss Sean Dyche admitted as much ahead of the game in his pre-match press conference.
Pope missed the 4-0 defeat against Leeds United at the weekend with a knee issue and doesn’t appear to have recovered in time.
“Popey is touch and go as to whether he plays in this one so we will have to make a call on that one,” said Dyche, per Lancashire Live.
It would undoubtedly be a huge miss for Burnley. Pope is arguably their best player, all things considered, and losing him weakens them significantly.
The 4-0 defeat against Leeds hints to that. Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who stepped in for that game, was only playing his fourth Premier League game. Now he’s in line to face Liverpool tonight.
Nick Pope to miss Liverpool clash
Liverpool go into this needing a win in order to keep pressure up in the top-four race. Win both remaining games and they’ll almost certainly make it into the Champions League next season.
Pope missing out certainly makes that easier. After all, if you’re after goals, facing opponents without their best goalkeeper is ideal.
This blow for Burnley may help Liverpool out, then.
Liverpool’s injury news
Liverpool have some positive news on the injury front, for once. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be fit again, while James Milner is back in contention.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was ill but is now ready to go once again, says Jurgen Klopp. Milner is training but needs an assessment ahead of the game.
“Millie will train today but is that then enough for being involved tomorrow? I will see,” explained Klopp.
“Ox was ill, [so] yes, Ox is back.”
That boosts the Reds’ numbers for this one. Oxlade-Chamberlain, in particular, will almost certainly get a game off the bench.
Thiago has played a lot of football over the last week, as have both Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. Oxlade-Chamberlain offers cover for all three and we’d expect Klopp to use him at some stage.
Balancing players’ fitness will be key. They’ll have some tired legs after Thursday, while there’s the big game against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Liverpool need two wins, though, so we’ll see how many chances Klopp is willing to take.
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