Manchester United travel to Anfield to face title rivals Liverpool on January after games against Watford and Burnley.
Jurgen Klopp has revealed Liverpool will focus on plenty of 11 vs 11 training to counteract the nine-day gap in between facing Aston Villa and Manchester United.
Liverpool booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Villa Park on Friday, beating a team filled with Aston Villa youngsters following a Covid outbreak in the first-team squad.
Klopp has shown little love for the FA Cup during his time as Liverpool boss but named a strong line up to face the Villa with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah among those named in the starting XI.
![[FILE] Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) runs with the ball as Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel closes in during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / POOL / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/000_97B779-scaled-e1703231851386-120x86.jpg "Liverpool host Arsenal in battle for Premier League Christmas No. 1 1")
After a poor first-half, Liverpool ran out 4-1 winners against the youngsters and now have nine days to prepare for the game against United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side could travel to Anfield as the league leaders if they win or draw their game in-hand against Burnley on January 12.
Klopp confirmed Liverpool’s training plan ahead of the North West derby.
“We have a lot of players with no rhythm,” he told BT Sport after the win against Villa.
“So we will do a lot of 11 vs 11 situations because that’s the most important thing for football players that we couldn’t give them too often.
“So now we have the time and we will use it for that, yes.”
Liverpool could be boosted by the return of Joel Matip for the United game but Klopp is still unsure whether the defender will win his race for fitness.
The German confirmed Diogo Jota remains out.
He said: “We will try [to get Matip fit for Man Utd]. He’s in a good way, but it will be United or a few days later, I don’t know. We will see.
“[Jota is still] in the knee brace, so a few weeks away from team training. Nothing new to say. It takes time. No surgery needed but a proper injury. Not a little knock.”
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