Klopp discuss Liverpool players leaving for AFCON

Liverpool will lose Naby Keita, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane for the Africa Cup of Nations following the Chelsea game.

With 3 more players having tested positive for Covid-19, this could leave the Reds squad looking quite threadbare going into January.

Jurgen Klopp opened up on how he is planning to deal with the situation during his pre-match press conference.

"Especially in our situation now, we know for a bit longer that the situation will be difficult," Klopp said.

"Because it's not only that we lose three players, the players we have now not available for [Chelsea] from a COVID point of view – I'm not 100 per cent sure, we will see about that exactly – but some of them at least will not be available for the first Arsenal game, for sure. So we have to see.

"That's how you do – you have to sort problems in football with football solutions. The football solutions will happen with the players we have available, and that's what we will try and that's what we will do.

"Planned in the long term, I know exactly how we could play if all the rest are fit and healthy and available, that's no problem and that would be a strong team and all these kind of things.

"But I don’t know who is available from the 3rd on, so let's have a look in the moment when we know about that."

Judging by everything Klopp has said, fans will only know which players are missing when the line-up for Chelsea is released.

In any case, January will provide an opportunity for fringe players as well as youngsters to step in.

Source: liverpoolfc.com