Jurgen Klopp confirmed several players including Georginio Wijnaldum will sit out from Liverpool squad to play against Mexican side Monterrey in semi-final of Club World Cup.
Klopp said to BBC that Wijnaldum’s injury is “not as serious as they thought”.
Besides that, Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Fabinho are all still missing through injury.
It will be Liverpool’s second game after in less than 24 hours after an under-18 side were trounced 5-0 by Aston Villa in Carabao Cup quarter-final.
“In the last few years we got kicked out of the cup competitions with our first team, but this year we have given the youngsters the opportunity, they showed up against Arsenal and that is what we expect,” Klopp said.
“We knew first we would be invited to the Club World Cup before we knew how far we would get in the Carabao Cup.
“We do not fly 3,000 miles not to show up. Our life is certainly dealing with difficult situations. We will be prepared and we will try to win the football game. We do not see ourselves as the favourites, we are challengers. We are here to represent Liverpool and Europe.”
Despite arriving in Qatar as European champions, Klopp said they respect Monterrey who won a dramatic 3-2 victory over Al-Sadd
“Monterrey are in a pretty good way at the moment. They have a way to play and they change system when they are in front. I was impressed by the things I saw and we are full of respect.”
Liverpool will play Monterrey on 1.30am Malaysia Time.