Jurgen Klopp today told his press-conference before the weekend fixture with Norwich that Adam Lallana is not a certainty to start.
The Reds travel to face the Canaries having picked up just one point from our crunch clashes at home to Arsenal and then Manchester United in recent weeks.
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We’re ninth in the table, and desperately need a win – or our chances of even finishing in the Europa League places might be diminished.
“Adam Lallana is a doubt. He has a little issue. We will have to see,” Klopp said, reported in the Echo.
“He needed a little bit longer to recover and now we have to see if there’s enough time for him to recover.
“He trained with us yesterday.”
Times journalist Tony Barrett confirmed that it’s in fact a muscle problem that Lallana is struggling with.
Jurgen Klopp says Adam Lallana is a doubt to face Norwich City tomorrow with a muscle problem.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) January 22, 2016
If Lallana is unavailable, and Klopp wants to continue with Roberto Firmino as a false-9 instead of Christian Benteke – he has little options on the flanks.
With Coutinho still out, Jordon Ibe would likely start on one wing, with James Milner able to play on the other. There are also the possibilities that Sheyi Ojo or Joao Teixeira could get the nod, but we find these pretty unlikely.
Lallana has been a constant under Klopp and has featured in every Premier League game since the German took charge back in October. His general performances have been decent, but his inability to find the back of the net or contribute assists has left fans frustrated.
In all competitions this campaign, he’s scored twice and assisted three goals – not good enough for a player carrying his price-tag, or his outstanding technical ability.