Kolo Toure Ready To Step In For Sakho Against Villarreal

Manager Jürgen Klopp has a decision to make regarding who takes the place of Mamadou Sakho in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Villarreal on Thursday. The Ivorian already played 90 minutes on Saturday when Liverpool and Newcastle battled to a 2-2 draw at Anfield, but he is confident that he could put in another shift on Thursday if called upon.

He said: "If they call me up, of course I will be really happy. I think I did some good things [against Newcastle]. I need to recover and I’ll be ready mentally.

"Martin Skrtel is there as well and Lucas [Leiva] can play at the back too. It is up to the manager. For me, the most important thing is the club, the team. It is going to be a big two games and you need to do your best for the club.

"We’re without a few good players and it’s tough times when your mates are out but we have shown the strength of the squad."

Given his age and his history of being injury-prone, it seems unlikely that Klopp has Toure in mind for Thursday. More likely, it will be Lucas Leiva once again filling in the center-back position in Sakho's place. However, regardless of whether he plays against Villarreal, Toure's talents will be necessary to help see Liverpool through the rest of the season.