Liverpool’s Jota to miss Merseyside derby
COOL heads and fresh legs will hopefully help Liverpool win at Everton tonight, but they will have to do it without Diogo Jota who picked up an injury at Fulham, manager Jurgen Klopp said.
Liverpool left some key players out of their starting line-up for Sunday’s 3-1 win at Fulham, including Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister, ahead of the Merseyside derby.
“We had to do it,” Klopp said yesterday. “We’ll see what we can do now for this game ... hopefully again we will have a lot of fresh legs on the pitch.”
Sunday’s win was Liverpool’s first in three Premier League games as they sit second in the table with 74 points from 33 matches, equal with leaders Arsenal before the Gunners’ game against Chelsea last night, and one ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Jota scored Liverpool’s third goal at Fulham but will now be out for two weeks with an injury, Klopp said.
“You have to deal with all the little setbacks, if it’s injuries, if it’s results,” Klopp said.
“It’s all about how you can get the right feeling back again. And I am really happy with the response.”
Klopp said facing Everton away was always a challenge, with nine of the last 11 Merseyside derbies at Goodison Park ending in draws. “Goodison Park can create quite a good atmosphere as well,” Klopp said. “They always look ready for the game.
“We have to make sure we are ready for this one ... Derby fever will be in minds, so we have to be cool and that’s an important part in preparing for the game.”
Aston Villa, meanwhile, have agreed to a new contract extension with manager Unai Emery that will keep him at the club until 2027, the Premier League side said yesterday. The Spaniard joined Villa in October 2022 and helped them finish seventh in the Premier League, their best campaign since 2009/10. They had finished 14th in the previous season.
This season Villa are aiming for their first top-four finish in the league since 1995/96. They have also qualified for the Europa Conference League semi-finals, their first major European semi-final in 42 years. “We must maintain the hard-working spirit, clever decisions and co-ordination with the ownership that we have found during this time,” Emery said in a statement.
“Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project,” the former Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal manager added.
Villa, who host Chelsea on Saturday, are fourth in the league with 66 points from 34 matches, six points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who have two games in hand. | Reuters