Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 6y

Adam Lallana fit for Liverpool; Simon Mignolet to return in goal

LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp says Adam Lallana is set to be part of Liverpool's squad for Sunday's trip to Bournemouth, while goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will return to the starting lineup.

Lallana has only played four minutes of action so far this season due to a thigh injury sustained in preseason, along with Liverpool taking precautions with the midfielder's fitness.

Meanwhile, Mignolet will start in goal ahead of Loris Karius at the Vitality Stadium, having missed the goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion in midweek because of a swollen ankle.

"Adam is back in full and normal training," Klopp told a news conference on Friday. "If nothing changed since yesterday then he will be ready for the squad at least.

"[Alberto Moreno] has no chance for Sunday. I saw him yesterday on the bike -- good, but not good enough. And Simon [Mignolet] is OK again."

Daniel Sturridge will have his fitness assessed after sitting out Liverpool's last two matches, but James Milner, Andrew Robertson and Joe Gomez should all be fit for the weekend, despite picking up knocks.

"Daniel, we have to wait [to see] how he improved since yesterday," Klopp said. "[We have] a few little things, with Joe, knocks from the game.

"Joe had a little bit before, that's why we left him out. But he should be OK. Millie and Robbo, a few knocks from the game, should be OK."

When later asked if Mignolet would play at Bournemouth, Klopp nodded to confirm the Belgium international would return.

Liverpool head into the Bournemouth game on the heels of back-to-back frustrating draws at Anfield against Everton and West Brom.

Those results mean fifth-placed Liverpool now trail Premier League leaders Manchester City by 18 points, with Klopp saying the perception of his side has drastically changed following the two draws.

"From a neutral point of view, it's good to see," the Reds boss said of City. "But it's not our situation. We have to sort our own things and that's what we are doing.

"Nine days ago we were flying and now I look in your eyes and I see, obviously, we have real problems. It's like it is. Everything is quick in this world in the moment.

"We will try again. I saw Bournemouth against United and couldn't see the biggest difference to our game with West Brom, for example.

"United won it, or Bournemouth lost it. They [Bournemouth] had a proper performance. It was really good how they played -- clear structure, 4-4-2, good defending, good football-playing team."

Asked about criticism of the amount of changes he had made for the last two games, Klopp said: "We have to make sure we have as fit as possible players for the specific game. That is all, and that is what we did, all the time, nothing else.

"We thought, and still think, the squad gives us that opportunity, and that is why we did it.

"It's normal that after two draws at home there is criticism out there, completely normal.

"But I think they were two completely different games.

"The Everton game was a really good one for us, we played really well, one of the best derbies I saw since I was in, with the wrong result at the end. We were unlucky.

"To be honest, against West Brom I thought we didn't deserve luck really. It was not a good performance. It wasn't fluent enough, our passing was not at its best.

"But I don't think it had anything to do with rotation or something like that.''

Elsewhere, with the January transfer window on the horizon, Klopp admits work is going on behind the scenes at Melwood in looking at potential players Liverpool could sign in the future.

"We think all the time about this," he said. "It's not only the January window, the summer window is coming as well, so we have to prepare for things like this with scouting and stuff like this.

"But [I have] nothing to say about them."

Press Association contributed to this report.

^ Back to Top ^