"The plan is..." - Klopp gives crucial Diaz and Thiago injury update ahead of Arsenal clash

Jurgen Klopp opened up about the fitness of his squad ahead of the club's Premier League clash against Arsenal.

Table toppers Arsenal travel to Anfield at the weekend hoping to retain their eight point advantage at the summit over Manchester City.

However the Gunners have not fared well away at Liverpool in the past. The north London outfit have now won at Anfield in 11 games - a run stretching back to 2012.

In turn, despite Liverpool's dismal form this term, it's a key date in the title race. The likes of Gary Neville have even claimed should Arsenal overcome the Reds on Sunday they would finally become favourites for the title.

And Klopp spoke to the press ahead of the game and provided an injury update on Liverpool's Luis Diaz and Thiago Alcantara.

Klopp on injuries

Klopp gave a positive update on several members of his squad ahead of the Anfield clash.

Indeed, Thiago has handed Liverpool a major boost by returning to full training ahead of the weekend, while Virgil Van Dijk has also recovered from the illness that kept him out of Tuesday night's draw with Chelsea.

And while Sunday has come too soon for Diaz's return, Klopp did provide an update on when the Colombia international would return.

Speaking in his press conference, the Liverpool boss said as per the Liverpool Echo: "Virgil is back in training, Luis and Thiago training completely normal.

"The plan for Luis is that he will be 100 per cent available for Leeds. We will probably not involve him for Sunday.

"Thiago is slightly different and might be available."

Klopp's team-sheet caused a stir on Tuesday evening. The Liverpool boss made six changes from the side that had fallen to a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City days earlier, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah all benched.

Reflecting on the changes, Klopp said: "We had one proper session since then.

"The boys don't show me they don't want [to play]. This is not the situation we are in. In training, I have to make decisions about the team based on what I saw in training.

"That opens the door for everybody. I cannot constantly ask for something I didn't get. I am really calm in this moment. I am in it and see everything and base my decisions on that. In the end, we will see what the outcome is."

Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, Thiago Alcantara, Luis Diaz, Arsenal

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.