Joel Matip: Liverpool defender back in full training, says Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Joel Matip has returned to full training but will face a late fitness test ahead of their match against Burnley.

Matip has missed Liverpool’s last four matches after suffering a muscular injury against West Brom on December 27.

Klopp was forced to play two midfielders – Jordan Henderson and Fabinho – at centre-back in Sunday’s goalless draw with Manchester United, a result which saw Liverpool drop to fourth in the Premier League after wins for Manchester City and Leicester.

The defending champions next face Burnley at Anfield on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, and Klopp is hopeful Matip can make his return to the side.

„Joel is in full training. Now we will have to make a decision, we will see how that will be tomorrow,“ said Klopp at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

„Yesterday he trained completely normal.“

Klopp also confirmed Diogo Jota is still a number of weeks away from a return after suffering a knee injury against Midtjylland on December 9.

„Diogo is still a few weeks away, I don’t know exactly how long but it will not be in the next one or two weeks,“ added Klopp.

„He needs time, the injury needs time. How much I miss the player is not important because when the player is not there, we are not allowed to miss him. We never think like that.

„That is why we have to deal with the situation, that is what we’ve done and we’ll all be happy when, hopefully in the near future, he will be back again.“

Klopp: Our form is not a catastrophe

Liverpool have not won in their last four Premier League matches and have also not scored in their last three league games – their worst run since 2005.

However, Klopp insists their current form is not the „catastrophe“ it is being made out to be.

„I understand the need to talk all the time about it but we cannot change it in a minute,“ he said.

„Most of the things the public thinks of we do as well but someone has to be calm in this situation, it is not a catastrophe.

„It is not perfect but I saw a lot of good signs again in the Man United game but because we didn’t win, nobody was interested.“

Carra ‘worried’ for Firmino at Liverpool
Liverpool’s front three will soon have to be broken up and Roberto Firmino could be the first man to make way, according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Firmino have been instrumental in Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, scoring 183 Premier League goals between them across the last four seasons.

But their form has come under scrutiny lately following a run of three games without a goal in the Premier League, including Sunday’s scoreless draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher pointed out that the trio have already been together for longer than other great Premier League front threes and while he expects Mane and Salah’s form to improve, he is less sure of Firmino’s long-term prospects.

„When we talk about this Liverpool team, we talk about the front three,“ said Carragher. „It’s almost like they come as a package.

„The reason I say that Liverpool’s front three is unique is not that they are better than other front threes, it’s how long they’ve stayed together.

„They are now in their fourth season and the great front threes in the Premier League have normally only been together for two or three years.

„We’re now in year four for Liverpool and we’re maybe going to go into year five because they’ve all got two or three years left on their contracts.

„They are all getting to their late 20s and sooner or later that front three will have to be broken up You can’t, in two years’ time, say ‘we’re going to buy a new front three’ and replace them all. It will change over time.

„At this moment, I think Mane and Salah are going through poor form. It happens. I’m still confident that Mane and Salah will start scoring goals again, but I must say I am worried for Firmino.“

Soccer Accumulator Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.