December 17, (THEWILL) – Virgil Van Dijk is one of three positive COVID-19 cases at Liverpool, which was revealed barely an hour before their English Premier League match against Newcastle United.
The Reds will be without the Dutchman, Fabinho, and Curtis Jones, but despite a slew of postponements on a chaotic Thursday, the game at Anfield will go ahead as planned.
After all the postponed fixtures this weekend, including Manchester United’s encounter against Brighton, as well as Leicester City’s match against Tottenham, which was scheduled for later on Thursday, only five games are billed to stick to their initial schedule of matches in the EPL.
Joel Matip partners Ibrahima Konate at the centre of the Liverpool defence at Anfield in the absence of the three players who are self-isolating.
Thiago will lead the midfield, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson supporting him, while Diogo Jota has been promoted to the starting lineup.
“It’s a blow,” said Klopp of losing three players on the day of the fixture, confirming that he had found out about the suspected positives on Thursday morning himself.
“But it’s the situation we are in. We all know getting the jab doesn’t make sure you will not get it, it just helps you through with lesser symptoms. Of course we were not overly happy when we got that news, but we had to react and we reacted.”
“With three players out and this squad we wouldn’t have asked [for a postponement].”
On Thursday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom reached a pandemic high of 88,376.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
