Liverpool are far more likely to suffer from fatigue than their opponents Manchester United on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claims that the Reds’ players have clocked a staggering 66,553 air miles over the international break, three times the distance covered by United.
So Liverpool are triply vulnerable to fatigue and jet lag than their opponents at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, the Liverpool squad played 1,121 minutes, with United’s squad only managing 913.
Furthermore, four Liverpool players featured in every single minute for their countries over the break (Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Andrew Robertson), whereas only Harry Maguire and Daniel James did so out of the Red Devils contingent.
OPINION
This has got to be a worry for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, and will be something he needs to monitor carefully. He’s had a few of his most important players recovering from niggling injuries on Merseyside, which may have turned out to be a blessing, sparing them from myriad air miles and allowing them to recover fully from their setbacks. The likes of Alisson, Joel Matip and Mohamed Salah should all be back against United having spent time recovering from their injuries and so that is a boost for Klopp. However, the travel miles clocked up by the likes of Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane could end up being a worry for the German going into this one. He has a good squad, and can always call on the likes of James Milner and Divock Origi to replace some of the above quartet if they are really tired. It’s all about managing players correctly and Klopp is a master of doing that, so hopefully this won’t be an issue come Sunday.
