Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he has worries over his side's injury issues as the Reds head into a hectic festive period schedule.
The Premier League leaders face Watford on Saturday before jetting off to Qatar for the Club World Cup, while in the meantime a B-team will face Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.
After their participation in Qatar Liverpool face a further two games in the Premier League, including a huge Boxing Day clash against second-place Leicester .
The Reds have a number of injury worries, with the likes of Joel Matip, Fabinho and Dejan Lovren out of Saturday's match, and Klopp said he is particularly worried about his lack of defenders.
"Two fit centre-backs is a concern, and it's not the first time we have had this situation," Klopp said in his pre-match press conference. "Lovren is out with a muscle injury, and it is more serious than last time.
"Fabinho is out too. Not too cool. We have to take care with cotton wool and ask what they want in training."
Klopp hinted he could use a few young defenders in the games coming up, with the likes of 17-year-olds Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever in contention to play.
"We have to be creative, we have Ki-Jana and Sepp," Klopp continued. "We have different systems too and defensive midfielders, but we have problems."
Klopp was speaking after signing a new extension to his contract, which will keep him at the club until 2024.
"We decided to continue what's worked so far, not too bad," said Klopp on Liverpool's social media channels. "We've agreed a new contract until 2024.
"That's good news for some, not so good news for others, sorry, but you can switch the channel off now. For the others, here are the reasons.
"We love it here. First and foremost, it's a wonderful club, we really feel at home, and understand most of the people and I thought it's a good moment to continue this thing."
