All the buildup to the weekend’s top-flight actionStoke sack Jones | Premier League: 10 things to look out forEmail Ben, tweet @benfisherj or comment below the line 12.50pm GMT
It sounds as though Fabinho could be given a breather by Klopp this weekend, with the Brazilian a booking away from suspension. Much could hinge on Naby Keïta – a doubt for Saturday – overcoming an injury sustained during the second half against
Arsenal in midweek but taking Fabinho out of the firing line is the only way to guarantee the midfielder will be available face
Manchester City on 10 November. Klopp has Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana, while he could always turn to his raft of youngsters, with Curtis Jones, Pedro Chirivella and Herbie Kane alternative midfield options, if need be. “It’s not possible playing against Villa to play without [making] challenges,” Klopp said. “The player knows this, I know this. Maybe he has to deal with it on the pitch or I have to deal with it with the line-up. I didn’t make a final decision yet so we will see.” 12.37pm GMT
Klopp has told the game’s bigwigs to think “about the players and maybe not their wallet” when it comes to fixture congestion. The German said he does not want to be drawn over whether clubs simply play too many games ... and then ends up flowing into a mild-mannered and passionate rant of sorts:
The discussion is obvious, that it is too much. Everyone involved in the game knows. Nobody wants to touch it, nobody really discusses about it. Then Uefa decides to make the Nations League, give the successful players a couple of more intense games. People then say you need a bigger squad. The game is not made for bigger squads. At the moment there is a imbalance between the number of players in the squad, the competitions you play and a big gap between the breaks the boys need. They have two weeks off a year, in a physically demanding game. The solutions, I think there are a few possible, but the leagues have to sit and really discuss and think about the players and maybe not their wallet. We discuss it always on the back of the money we earn. Somebody has to think about how many games.”