Liverpool legend explains why Jurgen Klopp will NOT start his 'big four' in crunch games

Liverpool goalscoring great John Aldridge believes Reds manager Jurgen Klopp will resist the temptation to start with his four lead forwards of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in his side’s two big games against Spartak Moscow and Everton this week.

Klopp has adopted a policy of heavily rotating his players in a bid to keep them fresh in recent weeks, with Aldridge convinced he will continue with that plan despite the importance of the two games next on his side’s agenda.

Defeat against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday will see Liverpool crash out of the Champions League, while Sam Allardyce’s appointment as Everton boss has added to the spice around Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield.

While Aldridge suspects Klopp will use all four of his star forwards in the two matches, he is predicting changes will be made for the two games that could define Liverpool’s season.

“The temptation must be to start with his first choice front four of Firmino, Salah, Coutinho and Mane for both the Spartak and the Everton game, but I don’t expect him to do that,” Aldridge told The Herald.

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“Top managers now have technical people working at clubs telling them that some players are entering ‘zones’ of fitness that means they are close to an injury and managers take that advice on board when they make team selections.

“Sadio Mane has struggled with injuries at times this season and Klopp has protected him by resting him in recent days and he has also shown he is willing to give Mohamed Salah a break despite his incredible scoring form.

“Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Dominic Solanke and Daniel Sturridge are all pushing for starts in one of these next two games and I suspect he will want to keep a couple of his main men back for the Everton game.

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“Liverpool’s season is now focused around a top four finish, progress in the Champions League with the squad Klopp now has, he should be playing strong teams in every round of the FA Cup, which is something he has not done in the past.

“Finding a balance between keeping players fresh and playing his best team is a challenge Klopp has embraced, with the statistics suggesting he has made more team changes than any other Premier League manager this season.

“Now he has to manage that rotation policy correctly to get the wins in two games this week that could set Liverpool up for a successful season.”