Jurgen Klopp confirms Lallana, Lovren out vs. Tottenham

Tottenham and Liverpool matches have been particularly juicy over the past couple years. Last season, Spurs rolled at Wembley and squeaked out a controversial draw at Anfield.

Tomorrow brings this season’s first clash between Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp, and it’s poised to be just as exciting.

Spurs will be without two of their best players in Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli, but Liverpool have a couple injuries of their own. The visitors will be without Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren when they take to the Wembley pitch on Saturday.

Simon Mignolet is available after sustaining a hand injury but Adam Lallana is not yet ready for selection following the groin strain he suffered in England training last week and neither is Dejan Lovren.

Mignolet certainly won’t play ahead of Liverpool’s new first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, but Lallana and Lovren are actual absences that could hurt the Reds. Lovren suffered a pelvis injury during the World Cup and has not featured for Klopp’s side yet this season. He sustained a setback recently, but so far the Scousers have been fine with Joe Gomez slotting in at center-back alongside Virgil Van Dijk.

Lovren had a particularly rough outing at Wembley last season. Spurs won 4-1 and the Croatian was embarrassed in defense time and time again. His terrible performance got him subbed off 31 minutes into the game, but he seemed to forget about that by the end of the season when he took to mocking Harry Kane as “Mr. Touch.”

Liverpool could also still be without Fabinho, who isn’t injured but has not yet made his debut. Klopp spoke a bit recently about why the Brazilian hasn’t played yet in a competitive match.

“It’s absolutely no problem. I don’t like the situation; it’s not that I like to say to Fabinho, who is full of energy and desire and wants to be involved, ‘you are not involved this weekend’. That’s not nice, it’s only the job to do sometimes.”

“We have players that worked together now for much longer; he comes from another league, a completely different system which Monaco played, to us. We have a good team together so that takes time. But the plan was, and is still, that he will make us better. That’s what we are working on.”

Spurs’ absences may be a bit more costly, but Liverpool aren’t exactly 100%.

Kickoff tomorrow is an early one. This “rivalry” gets back underway at 7:30 AM EST (12:30 PM UK).