With the international break coming up, there already are injury issues for the Reds with Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren picking up Groin injuries. Another Red now joins the list, Nathaniel Clyne. The right-back has been excluded from the England squad as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Clyne did feature in the 2-1 win over Swansea but the 25-year-old will miss out for England due to a knee injury. This does pose a massive problem for Reds manager Jurgen Klopp. While the extent of the damage is not known, if Clyne does not recover for the game against Manchester United, Klopp will have to rework on his defence.
The former Southampton man has been one of Liverpool’s most consistent players since he signed for the club back in 2015 for £12.5m. Clyne has cemented the right-back spot not only at Liverpool but also for the national side and this is his first reported injury since 2013.
The 25-year-old’s absence will be a massive worry in the game against United and Klopp will have to rejig his side.
What options does Klopp have to deal with the injury?
The big issue for the Reds isn’t just the injury to Clyne but also to Lovren. If both players miss out for the club, this would hamper the stable back four that Klopp has worked on.
There are a number of options for the club to look into. They could shift James Milner as the right-back and bring in Alberto Moreno on the left. Of course, the problem with this shift would be that Moreno is prone to making errors. And United would love to capitalise on the Spaniard’s lack of defensive stability.
Another option is moving Ragnar Klavan to the left-back slot but that would also put an X on his head for United to attack. The other option is to play either Klavan or Mamadou Sakho in the heart of the defence. The player on the left would still be Moreno but you would have two proper central defenders working for the Reds.
The most radical change that Klopp can bring about is playing a back three. Starting with a trio of Sakho-Klavan-Matip would be a risk since the club has not played in such a formation this season. But This could give Liverpool more stability at the back and bring in attacking wing-backs like Milner and Moreno.
A big clash in the making
Liverpool are only a couple of points behind Manchester City in the Premier League table and a win over their rivals, United, would certainly make Liverpool’s title ambitions more concrete. The Reds have never won the Premier League title but have come close on a couple of occasions.
There would be nothing sweeter than winning the Premier League title but beating Manchester United at Anfield does come a close second.
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