Jurgen Klopp: 'Liverpool cannot fulfil current fixture schedule'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 December 2021

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists that it is "impossible" for his side to play three more times before the end of the year as they "do not have the players".

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted that it is "impossible" for his side to fulfil the current fixture schedule with the players at his disposal.

The Reds were without Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara for this afternoon's 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, with all four players testing positive for coronavirus.

Captain Jordan Henderson also missed the match through illness, while Harvey Elliott and Nat Phillips were injured, and Klopp believes that his squad is now stretched too thin to play three more times before the end of the year.

"We play now on Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday. That is impossible. We do not have the players. We could maybe have another case or two. We have to think about it, we cannot just push it all through," he told Sky Sports News.

"First of all take away the second semi-final of the Carabao Cup. Just play once, wherever you play it I don't care. The 26th and 28th of December is really not possible. We would prefer to play but we need some help. If we carry on we cannot carry on as usual.

"If we don't play any more and have a break I am fine. But I know the problem. When do you want to play the games? It is not that easy to fit them in. We said before coronavirus that it was a bit busy and now it gives us a proper punch."

The Premier League will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the worsening coronavirus problem in England, having been forced to postpone six of the 10 matches scheduled for this weekend.