Klopp: Premier League is Reds’ priority

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the Premier League remains the priority for his side this season. The admission comes with the Reds set to play their Champions League round of 16 first leg clash against Bayern Munich at Anfield on Tuesday.

A lot of Reds fans want to see the club win Europe’s premier club competition this season after they nearly won the competition last term, losing 3-1 in the final to Real Madrid amidst a horror show from former goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Even though they will have home advantage and be favourites to win at Anfield, Klopp’s side face a difficult game against the German giants. They have a defensive crisis with Virgil van Dijk being suspended, Joe Gomez being absent and Dejan Lovren having fitness issues. This could mean that Klopp may have to deploy a player out of position in a makeshift defensive goal. It is likely that either Jordan Henderson or Fabinho will have to slot in alongside Joel Matip in defence.

Embed from Getty Images

The Reds do have specialist defenders in Ki-Jana Hoever, Nat Phillips and Corey Whelan to call upon, but it will not exactly be ideal to call up such inexperienced players for such a key match. Out of the trio, Hoever is the only one who has made a senior appearance for the club. He made his debut replacing Lovren during the Reds’ FA Cup defeat against Wolves.

It could prove difficult for a makeshift defender to contain the likes of Robert Lewandowski.

The Reds currently lead the Premier League standings and are in line to win the English top flight for the first time since 1989. Speaking during his pre-match conference, Klopp admitted that the Premier League will come first for his side this season. As quoted by the BBC, he said: “It’s difficult for me to answer the question but for all Liverpool fans it’s the Premier League [preferred competition to win]. That’s clear.”

“But for now it’s the Champions League and we have to do our best tomorrow. Thank God we don’t have to decide that right now.”

Featured image: Tim.Reckmann [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons