Klopp "Very Happy" with Europa Progression

Liverpool move on to the knockout rounds of the Europa League with their home win over Bordeaux tonight, making it five games unbeaten in the competition and two wins on the trot. A James Milner penalty and Christian Benteke thunderbastard were enough to dispatch the French side, and Reds manager Jürgen Klopp was happy with his team's advancement to the next stage.

"I am very happy to have qualified, the team are very happy to have qualified, the club are very happy to be qualified, so you [the press] can be very happy to have qualified!

"[Finishing] top of the table is important, but not the most important thing because there are only good teams in the next round.

"We will try everything when we travel to Sion in two weeks, but there are 50 games between then and now!

"We have to think about Swansea from tomorrow onwards and that’s what we will do."

While 50 games might be the slightest of exaggerations, the fixture list is indeed packed, with nine games over the coming five weeks. As such, it might be worth considering fielding a weakened team in what is essentially a dead rubber match against Sion, in order to allow first team players to recover in the busy winter period. The fullbacks Moreno and Clyne in particular are likely to benefit from some time off, as an injury to either player could prove disastrous, with depth virtually non-existent at the position.

Whether Klopp subscribes to this point of view or simply limits the training load imposed on players accumulating big minutes is yet to be seen, but for the club's prospects of competing on several fronts through the winter, one hopes there is a plan in place.