Jurgen Klopp has already hinted at four Liverpool players who’ll start against Chelsea

Liverpool will make changes from the loss to Man City but a quartet of players may be safe.
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Jurgen Klopp has confirmed he will make changes to his Liverpool team for tonight’s trip to Chelsea.

After suffering a 4-1 mauling at the hands of Manchester City last weekend, the Reds boss heads back to the drawing board in a bid to rejuvenate his side.

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Liverpool’s chances of clinching a Premier League top-four finish are diminishing by the week. With only 11 games remaining, there’s little margin for error if, against all odds, they’re to secure a spot in next campaign’s Champions League.

Nothing but a win is required against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And after the comprehensive loss at City, you'd suspect that plenty of players that will be at risk. Klopp may well wield the axe, with the likes of Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and maybe even Virgil van Dijk all contenders to be dropped.

However, after Klopp's post-match comments following the City loss, he did at least pick out four of his players who performed 'OK' - Alisson Becker Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Cody Gakpo.

“We had around about four performances were OK: the two midfielders, Hendo and Fab, worked a lot and tried to close gaps Cody, especially in possession, and Ali, of course,” said the Anfield supremo.

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“And then that’s obviously very difficult if you want to get something from here, then you have to have 14 or 15 players on top of their game and that was not the case.”

Given that 11 changes are highly unlikely, the quartet could be the players who’re safest to keep their respective berths.

Alisson was helpless for all four of City's goals. The Reds keeper made decent saves from Gundogan and Grealish to keep the scoreline down. In fact, Alisson has been one of Liverpool's best performers throughout the season. He may well be awarded Player of the Year come the end.

Fabinho, on the other hand, has been out of sorts for the most part. Having been Liverpool’s so-called ‘Lighthouse’ in the middle of the park during the trophy-laden spell, the Brazilian has struggled to operate at the peak of his powers for much of 2022-23. Yet with Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Naby Keita all available, options are somewhat limited. What’s more, Klopp felt that the Brazil international and Henderson - back in the starting line-up after illness - at least tried to put pressure on City and could expect the same.

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Gakpo was about the only Liverpool player who caused City any sort of issues in the second period. Interestingly, the 23-year-old has started all but one of the 10 Premier League appearances he's made since arriving from PSV Eindhoven in January. While he was thrown in earlier than expected because of injuries to Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez, Gakpo's now establishing himself as the out-and-out centre-forward in the team.