Loris Karius To Start Against Swansea

While an injured hand kept him out of the start of the season, Loris Karius is getting his chance to prove himself to boss Jürgen Klopp by starting against Swansea this upcoming weekend. The German keeper made his Premier League debut against Hull City yesterday after featuring in the EFL Cup match against Derby earlier in the week - albeit neither match really gave Karius anything to do.

Klopp revealed he had already informed the keepers that Karius would have the chance to start in the two league matches leading up to October’s international break.

“We had a game at Derby, what can I do? He did not have 500 balls, just two or three balls. Against Hull, I’m not sure, not too many balls.

“Of course to understand how a player reacts in situations you need the games. We don’t have the games in the week so we do it on the weekend and then at a specific point we can make a decision because I know the goalkeeper position is different than the centre-half position for example. I know this and I respect this so we’ll see.”

Much has been said after Karius was brought in this summer as competition for Simon Mignolet’s starting position as to if or when the German would get to play actual minutes. Despite a promising showing during preseason, his injury kept him out for most of the early matches of the season, giving Mignolet the chance to prove himself and challenge for his spot, with varying results. It’s pretty clear, though, that Klopp is willing to give each keeper a proper evaluation before making his decision following the international break. Better to make this decision now than wait when it could be too late to make a difference.