Liverpool: Still a lot to come from Virgil van Dijk says Klopp
That’s the surprise suggestion of manager Gary Rowett, who appeared on Sky Sports show The Debate.
The Reds travel to the south coast tonight to take on a Southampton side high on confidence with three wins in their last four matches and having taken points against Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Liverpool will go back to the top of the Premier League table with three points at St Mary’s (8pm) with just five matches remaining of the campaign.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are looking to lead the Merseyside outfit to a first title since 1990 and can afford few, if any, slip ups given the competition they face - with Manchester City one point ahead as it stands despite Liverpool losing just once all season.
Yet out-of-work coach Rowett - most recently in charge at Stoke City - believes that Klopp could even manage if his side suffered any injury blows between now and the end of the year.
That’s with key centre-back Van Dijk having been passed fit to face former club Southampton this evening after a sparking some concern by picking up an ankle problem late into their win over Tottenham last weekend.
Rowett said: “Liverpool for me have added real quality and depth to the squad which has been a big difference this season.
“I think both could cope with almost anything now player-wise because they’ve got such quality within the ranks.”
Liverpool will not be hurt if they are hit by injuries between now and May 12 says Gary Rowett (Image: GETTY)
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool can go back top tonight (Image: GETTY)
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are two of Liverpool's most important players (Image: GETTY)
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I think both could cope with almost anything now player-wise
Gary Rowett
But the ex-Birmingham and Derby boss also believes Pep Guardiola’s City boast immense strength in depth despite a left-back problem.
Oleksandr Zinchenko picked up an injury against Cardiff in mid-week with Fabian Delph unavailable and Benjamin Mendy having only played once since November 11.
Rowett added: “I think the beauty for Man City at the moment is that until they play in those games where perhaps you’re going to be tested at left-back then I don’t think it’s a massive issue.
“They have so much of the ball they could almost go and play [Kevin] De Bruyne at left back! They end so high up the pitch with so much possession.
“But then the games where you go and play Man United away, that might be a slightly different scenario although you would still expect them to have most of the ball.”
Gary Rowett thinks Man City have an edge on Liverpool in games because they are more relaxed (Image: SKY SPORTS)
Gary Rowett believes Liverpool and Man City both have squads to deal with injuries (Image: SKY SPORTS)
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And with Liverpool having scored right at the death to beat Spurs in their last top-flight match to avoid falling offering City the chance to move three points clear at the summit, Rowett believes the defending champions appear more comfortable in the title race at the moment.
He added: “[Cardiff boss] Neil [Warnock] mentioned it after the game in the post-match interview they just didn’t want to get a heavy beating. It shows what managers in the same division think. It’s an incredible division but yet there’s such a divide between the quality.
“With Man City, there’s not necessarily a difference but if you look at Liverpool, whenever they score they’ve virtually won every single game because it allows them to play that counter-attacking game with quick pace and gives those forwards a bit more style.
“Man City seem to be just as comfortable in any outcome. They can score at any single moment in any type of game.”