OPINION
Liverpool find themselves in a position that few professional football clubs in history will have encountered next month.
The Reds, as if struck down by some infuriating Football Manager glitch, must play two games in 24 hours or so, one on each side of the globe.
The FIFA Club World Cup requires them to go to Dubai in mid-December, while they also face a Carabao Cup clash with Aston Villa at pretty much the exact same time.
The solution will be to split the squad and have the first team travel abroad, with a more youthful looking side squaring off against their Premier League rivals.
And Jamie Carragher has made it very, very clear as to how Jurgen Klopp should handle the situation.
Speaking to the Echo, he said: “I know a lot of Liverpool supporters wouldn’t say this, and certainly the club couldn’t, but nothing can get in the way of Liverpool winning the league. Nothing.
“The Aston Villa game in the Carabao Cup? If Liverpool get through they will have two semi-finals to play then and that cannot get in the way of Liverpool winning the league.
“What I mean by that is do not play anyone in your first XI in that Carabao Cup team. Not one.”
What this sounds like is Carragher saying that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Liverpool were to crash out of the Carabao Cup against Villa next month.
Obviously, he’s not advocating throwing the match, but certainly, you can tell where the Kop legend’s priorities lie – and rightly so.
What he is absolutely saying, however, is that if the Reds are to lift the domestic trophy, then they must do so with a skeleton crew.
And Carragher might be onto something.
In a title race that promises to be decided by very fine margins, why risk playing your players in matches that nobody is bothered about.
The Carabao Cup would be nice, sure, but compared to the prospect of a Premier League title, it’s small fry.
Let the kids have a bash, see what happens, but for heaven’s sake, do not risk the first team.
