Jurgen Klopp has made no secret of his dislike for kicking off at 12:30 on a Saturday immediately after a midweek fixture or international break, but today is the last time that he’ll face that bugbear as Liverpool manager.
The stench of a horrific Merseyside derby defeat from Wednesday night is still fresh, but at least playing in the first Premier League fixture of the weekend offers the Reds a chance to draw level on points with leaders Arsenal and keep any potential chasers at bay.
Today also sees the 56-year-old’s last-ever LFC match in London as his side make the trip to West Ham, closing a circle which began in October 2015 when the German’s first game in charge of the Merseysiders was a 0-0 draw at Tottenham.
Like Liverpool, the Irons are also stewing from a dismal result and performance against a city rival, having been thumped 5-2 by a resurgent Crystal Palace last Sunday off the back of exiting the Europa League along with the Reds three days previously.
Klopp makes five changes from the team which lost to Everton in midweek, with the manager dropping the axe on several players who fluffed their lines in the derby.
Alisson Becker continues in goal, with Ibrahima Konate paying the price for a poor performance at Goodison Park by dropping out for Jarell Quansah.
There are two alterations in midfield, with Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch coming in for Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Up front, Cody Gakpo comes back into the starting line-up after he missed the derby defeat due to the birth of his first child, with Darwin Nunez dropping out after a costly miss the other night. Harvey Elliott looks set to start on the right flank, with Mo Salah relegated to the substitutes’ bench.
Also among those in reserve is Stefan Bajcetic, who could be in line for a first Premier League appearance of the season if Klopp calls upon him today.
You can catch the full team news below, courtesy of @LFC on X:
Team news is in for our matchday in the capital ???? #WHULIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 27, 2024
The post Confirmed Liverpool line-up v West Ham: Salah and Nunez axed as Klopp responds to derby defeat appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
