Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have made a mediocre start to their 2017 as they are still without a victory, 4 games into the year. After draws against Sunderland and Plymouth, Liverpool lost to Southampton and managed to take just a point from their trip to the Old Trafford, having lead in that game for more than an hour.
The manager will not be happy with the results but he will not have too many complaints about the recent performance of his side that stand 7 points off Chelsea at the top of the Premier League points table.
The Reds have missed the likes of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip in the last few games and though Klopp is ready to welcome a couple of them in the next few games, one player who might not play for the club for a long time is defender Joel Matip.
The summer buy for Liverpool, Matip, who came to Anfield on a free transfer, put in some commanding performances at the back and has already got the tag of being one of the best signings of the summer.
He is currently the first choice for Klopp this season and he is expected to start games for the side regularly when fit.
He recently picked up an ankle injury that has kept him out of the game for sometime now and though he is back fit at the moment, his issues with his national side might now see his place in the side come under some scrutiny.
With Liverpool playing their 5th game in less than 16 days this season, Klopp needs all the depth he can get from his squad and is hoping to start Matip in the midweek game against Plymouth in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.
But according to reports from the Mirror, Liverpool might risk losing points from their league campaign if they play Matip on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old star announced his retirement from international football a year ago but he was selected by the national side for the African Cup of Nations. However, he decided to skip the tournament and is currently training at Anfield.
Cameroon’s boss reached out to FIFA so that the player will not be able to feature for the Reds until the AFCON is completed.
Though it might sound a bit immature, the FA stopped Liverpool from playing Matip in the game at Old Trafford and have now warned Liverpool over using him in this game.
The manager, in the presser before the Plymouth game, revealed that he is not happy with the conduct of the governing body and revealed that he would like to use Matip for this game.
The Merseysiders failed to get any clear reply from FIFA on this matter and they are not expected to hear anything from them before this game.
So Klopp will not have to take a risk of losing points in the league if he wants to play Matip or he should go with a makeshift center back pairing to keep his side in the hunt.
The Reds have enough depth in the squad to get through this game but they will surely want FA to resolve this issue as it can help them play Matip for the crunch games for the rest of the month.
Do you think Liverpool should risk playing Matip and lose points in the Premier League?