Liverpool team news v Man City: Klopp gives verdict on Van Dijk, Henderson and Ederson
Jurgen Klopp says Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson are “fine” for Liverpool’s title clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
The Reds currently sit six points clear of City atop the Premier League table ahead of their Anfield showdown but Liverpool’s chances in the match were thrown into doubt when Van Dijk and Henderson missed training on Thursday.
Will Henderson and Van Dijk play v Man City? Five things to know…
- Henderson and Van Dijk both missed Liverpool training on Thursday.
- Klopp says Van Dijk’s absence was not due to fitness issues.
- He confirmed both players will be available for Sunday.
- But Joel Matip, Xherdan Shaqiri and Nathanial Clyne remain sidelined.
- Liverpool’s last Premier League defeat came against City back in January.
But Klopp has eased fears regarding two of his most important players, although he did admit Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri will remain sidelined.
He told reporters on Friday: “Virgil was not in training for other reasons not here, completely fine. Jordan is fine. Joel is not, like Shaq.”
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Guardiola confirms Ederson absence
Man City had an injury scare of their own in midweek as Ederson was forced off at half-time during their 1-1 Champions League draw with Atalanta. Replacement Claudio Bravo was then sent off, forcing Kyle Walker to don the goalkeeper gloves.
And while there had been initial hopes of Ederson returning, Guardiola has revealed the Brazilian will miss out, with Bravo replacing him.
“He is out,” the Man City manager confirmed.
“We have another top goalkeeper and Claudio Bravo can do it too. He is an exceptional goalkeeper. He is an international goalkeeper. I have no doubts.”
This came despite Liverpool boss Klopp being confident Ederson would return for the clash, expecting his withdrawal against Atalanta to have been a precaution.
“If he does not play then it would change because Ederson is an important part of the game. Bravo can do similar things – exactly the same nobody can do, that’s how it is,” he told Sky Sports before the Ederson news broke. “But, I expect him 100% to play.
“He’s an all the time player. Last year I think there was something similar when he went out in a game and a couple of days later he was back on the pitch.
“I think it was a precaution. I watched the game and didn’t see any problems from him.
“Going in the dressing room, I know how it is, and you ask around ‘any issues?’ and someone says ‘it’s a bit tight’ and you go ‘ok, no risk, come off’. These kind of things happen constantly and you have to react, but I don’t see him not playing on Sunday.”
