Jurgen Klopp admits he is expecting a ‘reaction’ from Chelsea against Liverpool, following the announcement of Graham Potter’s exit from the club.
Chelsea announced that Potter had been sacked on Sunday, following a difficult start to his reign that saw the west Londoners win just seven of his 22 league fixtures in charge. Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa leaves Chelsea 11th in the Premier League table and 12 points adrift of the Champions League places.
Liverpool travel to Chelsea in need of a result of their own after a poor performance in defeat to Manchester City at the weekend. Ahead of the clash, Klopp has warned his side to expect a reaction from Chelsea, but admits it is difficult to predict how the managerless Blues will respond.
“After a manager leaves, I don’t know. The coaching staff obviously will stay,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
“We have not had a real session between our last game and tomorrow night. Today, from a recovery point of view, we cannot do intense stuff mentally and physically. It’s more talking.
“I’m pretty sure Chelsea will want to show a reaction. Apart from that, maybe rotation? (N’Golo) Kante is back, Mason (Mount) was injured but might play.
“Line-up wise there might be a change to their system, I don’t know. We expect pretty similar to our last game.”
Todd said he would be different to Roman 😂😂
I feel for Graham Potter, but it was inevitable. You don’t change Tuchel for Potter. Ridiculous decision to start with. https://t.co/twZpL1D23H
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) April 2, 2023
Klopp called on his team to show their own reaction, following the Reds’ emphatic 4-1 defeat at the Etihad at the weekend. Liverpool struggled during a difficult second half at Manchester City and Klopp is hopeful the defeat can increase ‘the desire’ to bounce back.
“Games like that have a double impact,” he said.
“Some might lose more confidence but the desire to show reaction is there as well.
“The boys are good people but a short turnaround is the problem. I have no clue who can line up yet, I’ll get that information after the press conference.
“We’ll give the boys as much time to recover. There will have to be changes.
Klopp provided an update on the fitness of his squad and confirmed that Luis Diaz and Thiago remain out, despite the duo having returned to training.
“He’s (Diaz) not available but is in training. He’s not ready for this game.
“As much as want him back, we still have to give him time. When he came back to training in Dubai, he looked outstanding, until got injured again. We have to make sure we are patient.
“The Arsenal game is not completely out of picture but rather unlikely. It may be after that.
“Thiago was back in training yesterday, which is good as well, but he’s not available for tomorrow.”
