Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that Divock Origi is primed to help fill the vast attacking void left by Philippe Coutinho’s absence through injury.
Liverpool will be without the influential Brazilian playmaker for about six weeks with an ankle injury he sustained in the win over Sunderland last weekend that kept them firmly in the early title race.
Klopp and Liverpool are also missing England striker Daniel Sturridge as he continues to struggle with a calf injury, which means Belgium international Origi will lead the line in their Premier League clash against AFC Bournemouth today.
Photo: AP
After spending most of the season on the substitutes’ bench, Origi is set for his first sustained run in the starting lineup, but Klopp has no concerns about his ability to step up.
“Divock is still 21 and he hasn’t had the most match time in the last few months, so then he had no rhythm, but he is always working, never moaning,” Klopp said. “I was really happy for him having this opportunity and being in the shape to use it. It was really nice to see.”
“Timing is really important. You don’t always have influence on timing, but in this case it worked out really well because it was exactly one or two weeks since Divock was back in shape, in the race,” he said. “That was lucky, I would say, so he was ready for this specific moment coming in. I think everybody could see the difference between one or two substitutions when he came in a little bit earlier, it was not too easy for him.”
Liverpool are boosted by the return of forward Roberto Firmino after he recovered from a calf injury, while midfielder Adam Lallana has returned to training following a groin injury, but is unlikely to be risked.
Klopp is wary of the threat posed by Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, who are up to 12th place after some enterprising displays.
“I have seen a lot of Bournemouth games this season and they did well,” Klopp said. “They are a football-playing side with a good plan. Eddie Howe is doing a fantastic job there.”
“They have, of course, the pressure we all have to win games, but it’s a club that knows about the difficulty of the league,” he said. “So they are cool enough and confident enough to cause each team problems. We need to find solutions for these problems and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”
Bournemouth were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal last weekend, but will look to prove they are a side who can trouble the top-flight’s bigger clubs.
However, Howe has injury problems, with goalkeeper Artur Boruc and defender Charlie Daniels again expected to be out after they missed the defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
“We felt Boruc could’ve been available last week but he missed out,” Howe said. “He’s improving, whereas [Andrew] Surman has had a slight setback. He felt some discomfort in his hamstring so he won’t be available.”
“Charlie missed the Arsenal game, so we’re going to have to make a late decision on him,” he said. “We have a couple of selection issues, but with the strength of the squad there are opportunities there.”
This is a milestone match for Howe as he takes charge of Bournemouth for 300th time, a spell that has him sitting second on the Premier League list of longest-serving managers behind Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
RSS