Klopp says Minamino & Phillips could be available v Sheffield United, but he might be wrong

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Jurgen Klopp claimed following last night’s scrappy but crucial 1-0 win at Anfield that we may have both new signing Takumi Minamino and returning central defender Nat Phillips available for the Sheffield United game on January 2nd.

“For the next game we’ll maybe have two more players,” the boss said after last night’s win, reported the Express.

“Maybe Nat Phillips will be here and Takumi [Minamino]. We have to see how he is after the winter break, he trained obviously, but not with the team.”

However, the same source says that neither will be registered for Matchweek 21, as per Premier League rules – and that Klopp has actually made a mistake in his claim.

In truth, we doubt Minamino would have been thrown straight into the side after one day with his new team-mates anyway – while Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are similarly the guaranteed central defensive starters.

There is a big chance, however, that both Taki and Phillips play v Everton in the FA Cup, with it very likely that Klopp will deploy a mixed XI for the visit of Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues.

Because of our many injuries, there isn’t too much rotating the boss can do, but expect the likes of Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri, James Milner and maybe even Adrian to start.

With a crunch game v Spurs set for January 11th, there is actually enough time for the team to recover after the January 5th Cup tie – but it might well be that the first-team players simply need a prolonged rest following their exploits in Qatar.

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