The State of Play
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool continued their dream of a quadruple in midweek as their 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage was enough to defeat Fulham 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup. The Reds have not necessarily been overly convincing throughout the campaign but they appear to be getting into a machine-like groove where they just seem unbeatable at this stage as we head into the final few months of the campaign.
The news dominating the run-up to this fixture, however, is Klopp’s announcement that he will be departing the club at the end of the season. The German has brought considerable success to the club since he took the reigns in 2015, and Reds fans have been in shock since Friday’s bombshell.
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Chelsea v Aston Villa preview and prediction
Klopp to leave Liverpool
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso plays down talk of Anfield job
Team News
Arguably the biggest decision for Klopp to make this weekend is whether Alisson, who started against Arsenal in the third round, continues in goal despite the fact Caoimhin Kelleher is generally the cup goalkeeper. Andrew Robertson is expected to make his return to the starting eleven after being a substitute against Fulham in midweek.
David Wagner’s key decision will revolve around the availability of their attacking midfielder, Jonathan Rowe. The Englishman is the subject of strong interest from both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the final few days of the January transfer window.
Expected Line-ups
Liverpool: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Quansah, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott; Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez
Norwich: Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Gibson, Giannoulis; Nunez, McLean; Rowe, Sara, Sainz; Sargent
What they Said
Jurgen Klopp heaped the praise on Jarell Quansah in midweek after they defeated Fulham. He said that he put an end to the hunt for another centre-back: “But when we saw him, it was clear that we will not go for it. That we will have our own solution.” He went on to describe Quansah as a ‘proper, proper part of the squad, a proper part of the rotation.’
In the aftermath of their defeat to Leeds United the other day, David Wagner was content with The Canaries’ performance. “The performance I’m absolutely fine with. What annoys me more was the situations before the goal, show more aggression in 50:50 battles”; so that will be something they seek to improve upon at Anfield.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at Anfield at 14:30 on Sunday January 28th and will be televised live on ITV in the UK. The game can be streamed via the ITVX app.
Prediction
Liverpool have a very versatile and deep squad so Jurgen Klopp has lots of options to rotate and when he rotates, they remain extremely strong. They are the overwhelming favourites for this one, especially at Anfield, but they do not keep many clean sheets so Norwich, with their aforementioned group of genuinely impressive technical players, will be confident of at least bloodying the nose of the hosts. A comfortable and high-scoring Liverpool win remains very likely, in what is likely to be an emotionally-charged atmosphere given Klopp’s recent announcement.
