Pepijn Lijnders and Guardiola joined press conferences in the run-up to the League Cup match on Wednesday afternoon. Jürgen Klopp’s Dutch assistant indicated that young talents will be given the opportunity to prove themselves against The Citizens .
Liverpool traveled to Dubai during the World Cup break and played exhibition matches with Olympique Lyonnais (1-3 loss) and AC Milan (4-1 win). Lijnders thinks The Reds are ready for the resumption of the season. “The break gave us a chance to refresh our principles on the pitch. The players who played at the World Cup also returned strongly,” said the Dutchman.
Liverpool may start stirring in the transfer market from January, but Lijnders also indicates that he has a lot of confidence in the current selection. “We always look around to strike at the right times. But if the World Cup has proven anything, it’s that you really need a whole squad to be successful. The League Cup is a perfect time for us to use the full squad. It’s also a different situation because we were off for a long time. We want to give the talents a chance, we believe in them,” the assistant coach said.
Lijnders expects a spectacle at the Etihad Stadium, even if not all stars are present for both teams. He said,” Our duels with City are never boring. Both teams will certainly put up a top match. We have to play 100 percent concentrated and be efficient on the ball. Whoever plays, they make it a top show.” Klopp previously announced that Virgil van Dijk is unlikely to take action .
Guardiola congratulates Messi
For the cup match with Liverpool, Guardiola logically does not yet have world champion Julián Álvarez, who was honored with Argentina in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. “We are very happy for him, my congratulations to him, but also to Otamendi (ex-City player) and Messi (with whom Guardiola worked for years at Barcelona). Julián now has a week to ten days off,” Guardiola said.
The City manager was also asked about his views on Messi’s world title, with whom he won the Champions League twice at Barca. “Everyone has an opinion, but for me Messi is without a doubt the greatest of all time. Even if he hadn’t won the World Cup, I would have thought so. For him this is one of the last cherries on an incredible career,” he wrapped up.
