Jurgen Klopp has explained why both Roberto Firmino and James Milner missed out on selection for the Merseyside derby against Everton.
Liverpool face their bitter rivals for the 233rd time at Goodison Park looking to go back top of the Premier League after Manchester City leapfrogged them on Saturday.
Klopp made two headline-grabbing changes to his side with Divock Origi and Jordan Henderson preferred over Firmino and Milner.
And ahead of kick-off he has moved to explain why.
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"Millie (Milner) just felt a little bit his hamstring,” Klopp told Sky Sports prior to the game. "If Millie gives a warning sign…I think he would have been fine but the last two days he felt it still.
"So there is no reason for risk, especially when we have options on the bench, which we had in the last game.
"Hendo is a very, very important player for us, so it’s good he can be back.
"Bobby (Firmino) trained yesterday and it looked really good, so he is on the bench because he could be an option. I didn’t think it was necessary to bring him immediately after the good game we played on Wednesday.
"We’ll try it like this. We have very good options, that’s important."
