Jurgen Klopp has warned his new players what to expect as Liverpool prepare to take on Everton in the first Merseyside derby of the season at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Deadline day signing Arthur Melo is unlikely to make his Reds debut as he is yet to receive international clearance, but Darwin Nunez is back from suspension while Fabio Carvalho could make his first start for the club, having scored off the bench in Liverpool’s two victories over AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United, with Jordan Henderson ruled out through injury.
The Reds won 4-1 when they made the trip to Goodison last season, but while the Blues are yet to win this season, Klopp is expecting a much tighter affair this time around and believes his side’s stoppage-time victory over the Magpies in midweek was the perfect preparation.
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“Tight game. Pretty much all, most of the time, they’re really tight,” he told reporters. “From the games we won, we won one with a Sadio Mane goal in the 90th minute.
“It’s a big fight, we cannot ignore that. But we have to play football as well, that’s the challenge. From this point of view, I really think the Newcastle game was the perfect preparation because the game was super intense and showed us what we have to expect.
“Even if someone might not know it yet, he knows it after Wednesday. Since 2016 probably, I’m not sure if we had one in my first half-year here, but last few years I’m involved in most of these draws and the games were still all different.
“Just intense, a lot of fight. The more you can put in football as well between these fighting moments, the more likely you can get more from the game. But obviously that is a real challenge.”
After seeing his Anfield debut ended prematurely after being sent off for headbutting Joachim Anderson, Nunez is available again following a three-game suspension. And Klopp believes the Uruguayan has learnt his lesson as the German ponders whether to throw the striker straight back in against Liverpool’s fierce, local rivals.
“When it was clear he was out for three games, then we thought, “Oh, the first game he can play again is the derby!”” he said. “If he hadn’t had the red card three games ago, he probably would have had by now! He learned the lesson and is in really good shape.
“We used the time he was out to try and give him extra input, physically as well as tactically. He looks really settled now, even more than before, and had a really good last week.
“He’s really happy that he’s back, that he’s not suspended. Always when I gave him a high-five, I gave him a slap on the neck as well just so he doesn’t forget. That can stop now!
“He’s looking forward to it, I’m pretty sure. The English didn’t improve as much in these 10-15 days so I don’t know exactly but it looks like it.”
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