Liverpool have been dealt a double blow with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino ruled out of their Champions League clash with Barcelona.
Salah copped a nasty head injury in the Reds’ 3-2 win over Newcastle on the weekend, while Firmino continues to recover from a muscle injury.
Needing to overturn a 3-0 deficit, it is the worst possible news Liverpool fans wanted to hear, especially given midfielder Naby Keita’s season ended prematurely.
Manager Jürgen Klopp is remaining optimistic however that his side can do the unthinkable.
“The approach? We try to win the game, I thought that makes sense,” he said.
“We try to win the game and if the result we have in a specific moment gives us an opportunity to go to the next round, I think we should try.
“Until then, we just have to try to win the game and that’s the way we will do it, together with our supporters.”
Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri will likely line-up in the absence of Liverpool’s injured stars, and although the quality present, those names simply do not strike fear into opponents the same way Salah and Firmino do.
There is probably no more difficult task in football at the moment than defeating Barcelona, let alone by three or more goals.
The Blaugrana’s attack this season has been lethal and one goal at Anfield should put the tie to bed.
The undermanned Liverpool will likely start the match with high intensity, however whether they can sustain it will be decisive.
