Klopp reveals where Brighton surpass Liverpool; tips trio to replace Fabinho
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool must find a way to deal with the absence of Fabinho after the midfielder’s injury.
However, Klopp insists his squad will be able to find a solution – with three players tipped to fill his boots.
“It’s absolute bad news. I have nothing good to say about that. I’m not sure how long it’ll take but it’s looking like he won’t be involved in the Christmas fixtures.
“It was my main problem after the game but we have solutions and replacements for him.
“We can play without him. We are not the only team with injury players.
“We have to deal with it and we will.
“Naby [Keita] is OK. No more injuries from Napoli other than Fab.
“It is an opportunity for someone, of course. Hendo [Jordan Henderson], Gini [Wijnaldum] and [Adam] Lallana have all played it. We can system too. Losing a player of Fab’s quality is a blow but we are not the only team with injuries.
“The three players I’ve mentioned have played there. They bring a different quality.
“Gini was brilliant against Napoli. Hendo has played there really, really good. We just have to make it work.”
While he may have a headache over who to play in midfield, he has no similar struggles about working out where the goals will come from, with several members of the team sharing scoring duties this season. It’s something Klopp is pleased to see – even if he thinks there is room for improvement.
“It’s not too long we were talking about how we rely on our front three. I couldn’t care less who scores, I’m just really happy when the ball is in the net. Of course, it is good. Makes us a bit more unpredictable. We could have scored more.
While Liverpool are on a rampant run of form, Klopp is under no illusion about the size of the task at hand to beat Brighton at the weekend.
“[Graham] Potter is doing a fantastic job at Brighton. It will be a tough one.
“This is just the next game. Everyone has three games a week coming up but they have had time to prepare. We had an intense game against Napoli.
“We’re not the most intense team in the league, other teams run more than us. Brighton run much more overall.
“There are games where you have to be very intense, in others we have to control the game more. Most important thing is we don’t feel the numbers.
“We don’t think about 12 wins in 13. We are only 100% about next opponent.
“In this moment, we want to play the best football we can play, and we have to against Brighton. They are not only brave and football playing, they are organised a while. They are always in the game.”
