Klopp resists more change

JURGEN KLOPP says Liverpool’s injury crisis has ‘changed everything’ and that asking Trent Alexander-Arnold or Andy Robertson to fill in at centre back would risk even more disruption.

Klopp, whose sixth-placed side play at Sheffield United today, has been forced to use 18 different partnerships at centre-back.

Youngsters Nathan Phillips, Ozan Kabak, Rhys Williams and new Preston signing Ben Davies are fighting to start today. Another option would be to ask one of his famed full-backs to shift across to add experience. Klopp admitted: ‘I thought about it once or twice.

‘Losing your regular centre halves changes everything in your game — the build-up, formation, how you set up, how you protect.

‘The way our full backs play and perform is usually pretty stable for us. If you moved them on top of everything else, you change the structure in the middle and on the wing — a double change. That is probably why I didn’t do it.’

Last week the father of keeper Alisson drowned in Brazil. Caoimhin Kelleher stands by to play if Alisson is unavailable.

Klopp will remind his players of the success they have had.

‘As long as my team shows me they really want to alter the situation, I’m completely on their side,’ he said. ‘The rest we can change. That is not always in the time frame the outside world wants but you can change it.’