Jürgen Klopp Talks Fixture Overload and the Need for Rotation

With Liverpool in the midst of an overload holiday fixture list, fans have taken note of more rotation that usual from Liverpool, and manager Jürgen Klopp says that it when it comes to periods like this, it really comes down to necessity.

At other times, Klopp may be free to change up his matchday lineups purely to put out the side he believes gives him the best chance of taking three points given player form and the strengths of the opposition. But not at times like these.

“When you feel it’s really busy then you have to make changes,” Klopp noted at his pre-match press for today’s Sheffield United match. “In other situations what we try to make sure is the pieces we put on the pitch fit together.

“When we played Everton at the beginning of the month and made five or six changes, we were sure this offensive line will click. It’s how it can work together and sometimes the next game as well is a little bit in mind if it’s only three days.”

Still, at the end of the day the priority is always the next match and not the one in three days—unless perhaps the next match is in the League Cup and the one in three days is in literally any other competition the Reds find themselves in.

“You have to make sure you have line-ups for all the games but the focus is always on the next game,” the Liverpool manager added. “We [rotate] because we can do it and we will when it’s appropriate, that’s how it is.”