Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said that the next year would be intense for players coming back from the World Cup with the German preparing his side for their trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday.
Liverpool are in sixth place in the league standings after a disappointing start to the season and face a Villa side who have moved up to 12th after the appointment of Unai Emery as manager in October.
“For the players who played in the World Cup, the whole year will be incredibly intense,” Klopp told reporters yesterday following his side’s 3-2 fourth-round League Cup loss at Manchester City the previous evening.
“That’s really, really, really tough. We will have to see how we deal with that, and we will be really careful with the information we get.
“That makes planning really difficult for the next game because we were 100% clear what we want to do against City and then you have to change in the last second pretty much, that’s not cool but it’s the situation and that might happen against Villa as well so we need to be flexible,” Klopp said.
Klopp said that midfielder James Milner, who was substituted after 38 minutes of the loss at City due to a hamstring injury, would be out for a couple of days along with forward Roberto Firmino who is struggling with a calf injury.
“Millie (Milner) didn’t get better since then - he will be out for a couple of games. Same for Bobby (Firmino),” Klopp said.
“Trent (Alexander-Arnold) hopefully will be better. Hasn’t taken part in a full session yet.”
Klopp added that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil van Dijk are fine ahead of the Villa game.
Despite the defeat by City, Klopp found some elements of his side’s performance encouraging as they seek to climb up the league table.
“We have left a gap between us and much more exciting positions in the table. We have to chase. I saw good signs last night, I wasn’t happy with everything, our counter-press was pretty much non-existent, which I don’t like,” Klopp said. “There is a lot to come, we don’t think about the break anymore. It’s a start for something new and building on the things we’ve done so far and knowing and expecting that we can do better - starting on Boxing Day.”

Potter insists World Cup ‘reset’ could help stuttering Chelsea
Chelsea coach Graham Potter said his side were suffering before the Premier League paused for the World Cup, but that the break can enable the players to have the reset they need.
After making an impressive start to life as Chelsea manager having succeeded Thomas Tuchel in September, Potter’s side have lost five of their last six in all competitions, including their last three league games.
Such form means Chelsea are eighth in the standings ahead of the visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, eight points behind the top four.
“I think you have to go through moments sometimes - if you are honest we were suffering a little bit before the break in terms of the results weren’t what we wanted, performances weren’t so good either,” Potter told a news conference yesterday.
“Sometimes as a team you go through these periods. We went through one there and I could offer lots of explanations as to why but sometimes you have to accept they happen and you have to get through them and a break can help.
“Everyone can come back and reset and all the learning that has happened in that really intense period, you can consolidate and say ‘how do we go forward’ and that’s been really beneficial.”
Potters’ players who did take part in the World Cup have been given an extended break ahead of the Premier League’s return, putting the Chelsea boss in unchartered territory.
“We’ve used the time as best as we can - in the first few days, we had four players to work with so that brings its problems. It would have been ideal if we could play Bournemouth in a five-a-side,” he added.
“It’s not easy to get the balance right (with returning players), we’re all learning because it’s never happened before.
“You have to constantly evaluate and assess the players because you might get two or three months down the line and think you need to do something to refresh - because we don’t know the long-term effects of the World Cup.
“We’re confident we can prepare normally for the games coming up.”
Potter added defender Wesley Fofona has picked up another injury and will be missing for another few weeks, but said England full back Reece James, who missed the World Cup with a knee problem, is back in training.