Klopp confirms Joel Matip will be out for 3 weeks with adductor strain
Jurgen Klopp will be without Joel Matip for as many as three weeks as the Liverpool boss’ defensive injury woes continue to worsen.
Last Updated: January 1, 2021 2:09 pm
Matip out for 3 weeks
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Joel Matip will miss the next three weeks of action, having suffered an adductor strain. Despite keeping a clean sheet against Newcastle last night in Matip’s absence, Liverpool were unable to score, and thus dropped further points in their pursuit of a 2nd-straight title.
The Reds have been without several of their first-choice defensive stars of late, with both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez having suffered long-term knee injuries. In turn, Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has been forced into an unorthodox central defensive role.
With Matip out, Klopp has also made use of a number of youth players, including Rhys Williams. And such a trend looks set to continue over the coming weeks, with Klopp having confirmed that Matip will be missing for the next few matches.
“The normal stuff with these kind of injuries, around three weeks,” Klopp said when questioned on the stopper’s injury.
Matip could therefore miss his side’s top of the table clash with Manchester United on the 17th January, in addition to league matches against Southampton and Burnley.
Not overly frustrated
Although Liverpool were unable to break down a stubborn Newcastle side, who also threatened to punish the Reds for not taking their chances, Jurgen Klopp assured that his side reacted well to their poor result against West Brom.
“Oh no, I’m not happy about the result, but I’m not overly frustrated. It’s football, and if you don’t use your chances then it’s difficult to win a game,” Klopp said.
“But you can have a draw with a bad performance or a draw with a good performance, and tonight was a draw with a good performance. We just didn’t use the chances, and that’s why I am OK with the game. If you keep creating, you will score. I know we will score again, that’s how it is. It’s not a problem in the moment.”
Mohamed Salah had a huge chance to give Liverpool the lead with a left-footed effort, but Karl Darlow was on hand to thwart the Egyptian.
Mohamed Salah is put through on goal but Karl Darlow makes a big save ❌ #NEWLIV pic.twitter.com/uYlyVaXxPz
— Goal (@goal) December 30, 2020
“We needed to show a reaction from the second half against West Brom because we lost the plot a little bit there, it looked in that second half like we were 1-0 down and not 1-0 up.”
“Tonight was a very good reaction to that, without getting the result. Everybody knows if we win 1-0 then everybody is over the moon, and we should have won the game at least 1-0. But we didn’t, and we have to accept that.”
Despite their draw with Newcastle, Liverpool remain top of the Premier League table, three points clear of Manchester United who boast a game in hand.
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This article was edited by Conor Laird.
Liverpool betting odds, next game:
Liverpool vs Burnley odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Liverpool vs Burnley Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 15/8 | 10/11 |
| Burnley | 20/1 | 18/1 |
| Draw | 8/1 | 16/1 |
| Liverpool vs Burnley Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 6/5 | 6/5 | 4/9 |
| Sadio Mane | 7/4 | 7/4 | 8/11 |
| Divock Origi | 9/4 | 9/4 | 10/11 |
| Roberto Firmino | 12/5 | 12/5 | 1/1 |
| Takumi Minamino | 3/1 | 3/1 | 13/10 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 18 | 10 | 37 |
| 2 | Manchester City FC | 17 | 16 | 35 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 18 | 12 | 35 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 18 | 16 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 12 | 29 |
| 8 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 9 | West Ham United FC | 18 | 4 | 29 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 19 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 17 | -11 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 18 | -27 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
