Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hinted at the possibility of him playing a strong line-up against Manchester City in December's Carabao Cup tie.
City comfortably beat Chelsea in the third round while a young Liverpool side needed penalties to squeeze past Derby County. The reward for both teams is a match against each other in the fourth round.
Neither Pep Guardiola nor Klopp will be over the moon with the clash taking place just days after the World Cup final and before a busy festive schedule. When asked how he would approach the fixture, Guardiola earlier joked that he would be playing in midfield and Klopp would be playing at full-back.
ALSO READ: Guardiola cracks Klopp joke after Carabao Cup draw
However, it would seem that the Merseyside club's boss may feel his side is better suited for the December clash than City. "I have really no idea [if youngsters will be picked for Liverpool]," Klopp explained.
"The thing is that we have a pre-season [training camp] before that game, so the players will be involved, definitely involved, hopefully fit enough and stuff like this, and have a pre-season. I think that’s similar with City.
" City has definitely more players at the World Cup than we have. So, we have to see who is available. That’s always, by the way, the case: players’ availability and these kind of things.
"Because of intense schedules it made sense to… let me say it like this, if the game against Derby would have been the only game in three weeks, we would have played a different team. That’s clear.
"It’s not about just forcing the kids in and it’s a kids’ competition and stuff like this, but we like it that way, that’s how we can use the competition, to show our prospects. For this game, I have no idea. We will come back from our training camp [and] I will make the decision then around the game."
READ NEXT:
