Sturridge Not Fit For Sunderland Match

With Klopp’s nailed on start Adam Lallana already set to miss the next handful of games, a shake up in the starting XI was expected for this afternoon’s match against Sunderland.

One person that won’t get their chance to start, however, is Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge. It seems the England international has picked up a minor calf strain that will keep him off the pitch while training at Melwood for the match against David Moyes’ men. The knock isn’t believed to be serious, but enough to keep Sturridge out of contention for today’s game.

Fans familiar with Sturridge’s injury struggles will find it hard to tamp down their feelings of resignation. For Sturridge, injuries that start off as single game missers somehow tend to morph into serious, lengthy issues.

With any luck, this one will be different, especially with the busy winter season finally here. In the mean time, this will likely require some re-jiggering of the squad at the last minute by Klopp before the game.

Based on last week’s game without Lallana, Gini Wijnaldum seems to be the player who will be given the start. However, Klopp implied recently that, given Liverpool’s struggles without Lallana, a different approach may be in order. Many believed this indicated a chance for Sturridge to pick up his fifth start for the season. Now that idea may be out the window, or Klopp may choose to keep the same altered formation, but bring in Divock Origi in Sturridge’s place.

Kickoff for the match is at 3PM GMT/10AM EST at Anfield.