Ibrahima Konate could be brought back into Jurgen Klopp’s starting eleven as Liverpool face Villarreal tomorrow night.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that the 22-year-old is one of three players ‘in contention’ to be recalled by Klopp on Wednesday.
The report claims that Klopp’s ‘rotation policy will continue’ as Liverpool aim to lay down a marker in the first leg at Anfield.
As well as Konate, this could reportedly see the returns of Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz. Both players were left out of the line-up against Everton, appearing from the bench in the second half instead.
Klopp rings the changes
To some onlookers, Sunday’s starting line-up against Everton may have been surprisingly strong. With The Toffees struggling at the bottom end of the table and a big game coming on Wednesday, Klopp might have been tempted to rotate a few key players.
Instead, the manager went pretty much full strength. The only one of his preferred starting eleven left out was Jordan Henderson, with Diaz also unlucky not to be involved from the start.
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As it turned out, as usual, Klopp was right. Everton proved tricky to break down and almost gave The Reds a scare.
It does now mean that there may be some weary legs heading into the tie against Villarreal, though.
It’s hard to see Klopp rotating further beyond the trio mentioned by The Athletic. The likes of Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez would present a little drop-off that Liverpool can’t afford against a side who will desperate to cause an upset.
Perhaps most worryingly though, Villarreal have had a full week off to prepare for the game at Anfield. They last played on Tuesday April 19th, a 2-0 win over Valencia giving them confidence heading to Merseyside.
With fresh legs in yellow, Klopp will be hoping that his little tweaks are enough to freshen up his side as their relentless schedule continues.