Liverpool boss Klopp warns of intense year as injuries take their toll

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said the next year would be intense for players coming back from the World Cup with the German preparing his side for their trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday.

Liverpool are in sixth place after a disappointing start to the season and face a Villa who have moved up to 12th after the appointment of Unai Emery as manager in October.

“For the players who played in the World Cup, the whole year will be incredibly intense,” Klopp said on Friday after his side's 3-2 fourth-round League Cup loss at Manchester City the previous evening.

“That's really, really, really tough. We will have to see how we deal with that, and we will be really careful with the information we get.

“That makes planning really difficult for the next game because we were 100% clear what we wanted to do against City and then you have to change at the last second. That’s not cool but it’s the situation and that might happen against Villa as well so we need to be flexible.”

Klopp said midfielder James Milner, who was substituted after 38 minutes of the defeat at City due to a hamstring injury, would be out for a couple of days along with forward Roberto Firmino, who is struggling with a calf injury.

"'Millie' [Milner] didn't get better since then — he will be out for a couple of games. Same for 'Bobby' [Firmino],” Klopp said.

“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] hopefully will be better. He hasn't taken part in a full session yet.”

Klopp said Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil van Dijk are fit to play ahead of the Villa game.

Despite the defeat by City, Klopp found some elements of his side's performance encouraging as they seek to climb up the league table.

“We have left a gap between us and much more exciting positions in the table. We have to chase.

“I saw good signs last night. I wasn't happy with everything — our counter-press was pretty much non-existent, which I don't like.

“There is a lot to come, we aren't thinking about the break any more. It's a start for something new and building on the things we've done so far and knowing and expecting that we can do better — starting on Boxing Day.”