Paul Gorst tweeted in the early hours of the morning to report the club’s arrival in Midtjylland last night, informing fans that Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Gini Wijnaldum had travelled with the group.
Several other of the side’s starters have joined Jurgen Klopp’s squad in Denmark, with the German potentially set to field a far more experienced first XI than what was anticipated.
Liverpool touched down at Midtjyllands Airport around 7pm this evening.
Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane all part of the travelling pack.
Could be a more senior team than many anticipated.
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) December 9, 2020
Though the use of senior players would perhaps contradict the Reds manager’s prior complaints about player safety, we would assume that the inclusion of a few starters in the squad has more to do with having available options on the bench.
We at the EOTK would not expect to see Liverpool send out a completely inexperienced side against Brian Priske’s side – this is still the Champions League after all, throwaway game or not.
Indeed, given that this is a sport which does rely on, in part, momentum, Klopp could be forgiven for wishing to maintain the club’s high spirits after their 4-0 rout of Wolves last Sunday.
The experience available may not even be required, as the club’s Academy graduates have previously demonstrated, but it can’t hurt to have the likes of Sadio Mane in reserve, just in case.