Klopp on players workload and World Cup concerns
Check out Jurgen Klopp’s pre match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with newly promoted Fulham. The German manager voiced his concerns about player welfare with an extremely busy schedule due to the World Cup in Qatar.
Fulham vs Liverpool: Line-ups
Fulham
Liverpool
Routine Win for the Reds
#1
Bringing in Joao Palhinha from Sporting Lisbon was an impressive coup indeed – the pull of the Premier League played its role to the maximum in that one – and Silva has also welcomed Manor Solomon, Kevin Mbabu, Bernd Leno and Andreas Pereira to Craven Cottage this summer.
#2
Beating Nice and Estoril and holding Villarreal to a score draw in pre-season has set Fulham up well to try to secure survival this time around, although Benfica put five past them in pre-season, and they have lost all five of their opening-day top-flight encounters the season after their promotion.
#3
During their abysmal end to a doomed 2020-21 season, Fulham failed to pick up any victories in their final 10 games of the campaign – losing eight and drawing two – but Liverpool fans will not want to hear who their most recent Premier League victory came against.
#4
Red Bull Salzburg, Manchester United and Strasbourg all got one over Liverpool in pre-season, but Klopp was not averse to sending out teams made up of second-string and youth players over the summer, and their unbeaten Premier League run now stands at 19 games.
#5
As previously hinted at, Fulham’s most recent Premier League win was a 1-0 success over Liverpool at Anfield in 2021, and they also held the Reds to a draw at Craven Cottage that same year, but Liverpool are going in search of their fifth opening-day win with at least three goals scored in succession this weekend.
DPP Verdict
Fulham may have made some eye-catching acquisitions this summer, but Silva’s side are still prone to the odd lacklustre defensive showing, and a full-strength Liverpool need no second invitation to take advantage. Klopp has far more injuries to contend with than he would have liked at this point of the season, but we cannot see past a routine win for the title hopefuls on the opening day.
