Coutinho & Firmino to start in friendly with Wolves

The Liverpool manager will look to tackle a few key areas of concern while analysing some of the club’s young gems at Melwood


GOALBy Melissa Reddy


Jurgen Klopp will assess some of his first-team squad as well as a few of Liverpool’s young on-loan talents during a friendly game with Wolves on Friday afternoon.

The manager has not been afforded the training time he would appreciate between matches, but the international break offers him an extended period to correct issues in sessions rather than through video analysis.

While he does not have a full roster at his disposal due to national team commitments, Klopp will still tackle key areas of concern.

Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Lucas Leiva, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and Joao Teixeira will all start in the behind-closed-doors encounter at Melwood.

Brazilian starlet Allan, who won the Finnish league during a temporary spell with SJK Seinäjoki, will also be part of the first XI.

The Reds boss is likely to run the rule over Sheyi Ojo, Sergi Canos and Harry Wilson. The trio have been training at the complex in West Derby, with the 48-year-old intent on gleaning more information about the club’s young gems.

Ojo, who is on loan at Wolves, has already been assessed by the German and is keen to impress his new manager.

“He’s just said to me to keep my head down, keep working hard and obviously we’ll just see what the future holds,” the 18-year-old told the club’s official website.

“I think he’s come to see me a couple of times which is nice to hear and hopefully I can keep on improving and keep on doing well.

“With the right guidance I think I can do well in this team. I’m still learning and I’m still young so I’ll just see how it goes and see what the manager wants me to do.”

Canos is on loan at Brentford, while Wilson is at Crewe. Ryan Kent, who is serving his short-term spell at Coventry, was also at Melwood to meet Klopp on Friday and Saturday before joining the England Under-20s on Sunday.

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