Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the state of the pitch at the Johan Cruijff ArenA

Liverpool News Roundup: Midfielder to miss weekend clash, Klopp complains about Ajax pitch, and more - 22nd October, 2020

Modified Oct 22, 2020 18:22 GMT

In today's Liverpool news roundup, we have the latest as the Reds look set to miss Thiago Alcantara for one more game at least, Jurgen Klopp complains about the pitch at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, and more.

Thiago Alcantara will miss Premier League clash against Sheffield United

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is set to miss the Premier League clash against Sheffield United on Saturday.

Thiago was tackled heavily by Richarlison during the Merseyside Derby last Saturday, and didn't feature in the Reds' 1-0 UEFA Champions League victory against Ajax on Wednesday.

After the game in Amsterdam, Jurgen Klopp said that Thiago would miss the weekend's game, along with Alisson Becker, while the Reds still had to see what Joel Matip's recovery has been like.

"Thiago won’t be back until next week probably. No, no chance he’s making the Sheffield game. Keita looks good. We will see how that goes and the same with Matip. Alisson maybe at the start of next month," Klopp said.

Liverpool look to Bundesliga duo to fill Van Dijk hole

Bundesliga duo Dayot Upamecano and Ozan Kabak are being looked at to fill the void left by the injury to Virgil van Dijk.

According to journalist James Pearce, Liverpool have already scouted both the centre-backs extensively, and are set to make a move for one of the in January.

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Pearce said that he would not be surprised if the move for the centre-back happened in the January transfer window. Liverpool are down to bare bones in the centre-back position, with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip the only senior centre-backs available.

Matip's injury meant that Fabinho had to fill that role against Ajax on Wednesday.

With Van Dijk set to miss the rest of the season, the addition of a centre-back could not come soon enough for Liverpool.

Klopp complains about "muddy" Ajax pitch

Jurgen Klopp has said that he was surprised at the state of the pitch at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam after Liverpool beat Ajax 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League.

Klopp said that for a side that plays good football like Ajax, the pitch really surprised him.

"We were good enough to win the game, that's what you need," he told BT Sport, via Metro.

"I think both teams can play better football, it was pretty wild at moments. I think the pitch was really tricky, deep, muddy a little bit, both teams looked really exhausted pretty early

"Three days ago it looked completely different, yesterday in training too but it was the same for Ajax too. They are where we are, early in the season, that cannot be the reason really." Klopp said.

Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag, though, rubbished Klopp's complaints about the pitch.

"Klopp saying the pitch was bad? I don’t think the pitch was bad, no," Ten Hag said. "Let’s hope we get a better pitch at Anfield then."

Edited by
Aaditya Narayan