“I’m not made of wood,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said in the post game press conference following his first game after announcing his resignation. Klopp shocked the football world when he announced that he will be stepping down, effective at the end of the season, on Friday.
As you can imagine, he got a ton of emotional support from the fan base, and the Liverpool community at large, during the FA Cup 4th round win over Norwich City yesterday.
Liverpool FC at Chelsea FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday, Jan 31, 8:15 pm, Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Six Leading Candidates to Replace Jurgen Klopp: go here
Team News:ย ย Liverpoolย ย Chelsea
Starting XI Prediction: Liverpoolย ย Chelsea
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Liverpoolย 61%ย Drawย 21%ย Chelsea 19%
PL Form, Standing: Liverpoolย WWWDD, 1st, 48 ptsย ย Chelsea WWWLW, 9th, 31 pts
Liverpool Team News vs Chelsea
Curtis Jones called Klopp “the dad of the whole city,” and that is the best summarization yet. The departure of Klopp now puts the future of several Reds into question, including the club captain Virgil van Dijk.
Asked if he saw himself being part of the club once Klopp leaves, Van Dijk said: “That’s a big question — I don’t know.
“The club will have a big job on their hands. That is well known. To replace the manager and replace not only the manager, the staff is leaving, and there are so many things that will change.
“So the club has a big job on its hands and I am very curious which direction that will go in. But when that will be announced we will see our situation. I can’t say much about it.”
Van Dijk, who has 18 months left on his Liverpool contract, said on Saturday that the Klopp news was indeed, very tough to take.
Liverpool will have several injury absentees for this clash with Chelsea, and the list includes two players in the same boat, contractually, as Van Dijk in Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Salah suffered a hamstring injury at AFCON, while representing the Egyptian national team, which will keep him out for at least another week or two. TAA came on yesterday, for the final third of the match, and found himself playing in the final third on the pitch!
Yes, Alexander-Arnold was deployed as a center forward, in the 5-2 thrashing of the Canaries! Expect him to go back to his normal place in the lineup, right back, in midweek.
Meanwhile Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara remain out as long-term injury absentees.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
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