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Four things that fans want Klopp to do in the remaining fixtures

Jurgen Klopp has masterminded Liverpool to the verge of the Premier League title.

The Reds need two more wins to secure the title in what may go down as the most memorable season in football history.

With nine games to go, there is the possibility that Liverpool will have seven essentially meaningless games.

Winning six of these will mean equaling the record points total for a single Premier League campaign.

So, while there is the obvious desire amongst fans, players and staff to win every game, the main objective is to secure the title.

After this, the goal should be to build for the future, in order to win more titles.

Jurgen Klopp and his staff may decide that the last seven games will be perfect to help improve the squad ahead of next season.

There are numerous players that would benefit greatly from game time with less pressure than normal.

There are also certain tactical tweaks that Klopp may like to try out and see if they could work in bigger games.

Here, we will discuss both.

Trent in midfield

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Trent Alexander-Arnold is the world’s best right-back.

He is one of Liverpool’s most important players and the side’s chief creative force.

While he is able to do this from right-back, many fans are still clamouring to see him dictating games in midfield.

Some argue that there is no need to change it, as he couldn’t possibly perform much better than he is doing in his current position.

Yes, this is a fair point. But one only needs to take a look at Bayern Munich to see the potential effect of moving Alexander-Arnold to midfield.

The German side have moved right-back Joshua Kimmich to the centre of the park, to great effect.

Kimmich is now one of the world’s best midfielders, and there are clear similarities between him and the Scouser.

Jurgen Klopp may like to have a look at Trent in the middle, if only to see how he looks there.

It would be great to see how he adapts to playing in tighter spaces.

The fact that there is less pressure to win would also mean that he could take his time to figure out his positioning and where he is meant to be in certain scenarios.

Fans would certainly enjoy seeing a look into the potential future of their homegrown hero.

Blood the youngsters

Harvey Elliott, Nico Williams and Curtis Jones, LFC

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Klopp is expected to give the Liverpool youth game time when the title is won.

Key players will be rested in order to prevent injury and burn-out when there is nothing to play for.

This and the fact that teams will be able to make five substitutions will benefit the younger players.

Three players, in particular, look set to feature in the closing games – Curtis Jones, Neco Williams and Harvey Elliott.

Jones is expected to play more regularly next season and should fill the space left by Adam Lallana.

The Scouser has been fantastic in the cups this year, with a winning penalty against Arsenal being trumped by a winner in the Merseyside derby.

Playing next to the current stars like Jordan Henderson would certainly improve his game and get him used to the speed of Premier League football.

Alexander-Arnold’s move to midfield could be fast-forwarded if Williams continues developing at the current rate.

The 19-year-old has excelled at right-back when called upon and may prove to be good enough to allow Alexander-Arnold to move on from the role.

For now, he should be a good deputy for next season.

Harvey Elliott could be the most exciting of the lot.

The Premier Leagues youngest ever player is a bums-off-seats type of talent.

His natural ability is second to none at his age group, and playing more Premier League football will increase his physical capacity.

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Dutch defensive duo Ki-Jana Hoever and Sepp van den Berg may also see some minutes, Hoever in particular.

Playing alongside compatriot Virgil van Dijk in a Premier League game would be a massive help to both teens.

There should be a mix of first-teamers and youngsters in each game.

Being the odd-one-out in a side of senior megastars would benefit them more than playing beside their similarly inexperienced peers.

So rather than a back four of Williams, Hoever, van den Berg and Yasser Larouci, it would make more sense to fit one at a time into the regular defensive line.

More of the Red Bull duo

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Liverpool have two senior players that fans are excited to see more of.

Interestingly, both are former Red Bull Salzburg players, whose reputations still differ.

Naby Keita signed from Salzburg’s sister club, RB Leipzig for over £50 million in 2017, joining the following summer.

Takumi Minamino was signed from the Austrian side for just £7.25 million in January 2020.

Aside from the Red Bull connection, they have something else in common – Liverpool fans haven’t seen as much of them as they would have liked.

While we have already written about Keita’s big chance in the coming weeks, available here, it is worth reiterating the talent that he possesses.

He is possibly Liverpool’s best midfielder, yet injuries have made his Anfield career a stop-start one thus far.

He seems to be in flying form in the friendly games Liverpool have played ahead of their return to league action.

Hopefully, he can keep this going and see out the rest of this season in order to make his name one of the first on the teamsheet going forward.

Takumi Minamino, LFC

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Japan star Minamino has made seven Reds appearances since signing in January.

Only three of these have been in the league.

He demonstrated his talent when playing against Liverpool in the Champions League this season.

Hopefully, he will manage to replicate these performances in a Reds shirt in the last few games.

Playing Minamino will give fans the opportunity to see what he is all about. It will also allow him to prove himself as good enough to play for Liverpool.

He is very versatile, but Jurgen Klopp seemingly sees him as a false 9 in the mould of Roberto Firmino.

It would be interesting to see him play the role with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah either side of him.

Plan B needed for Klopp

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Finally, these next few months should prove to be perfect for Jurgen Klopp to brush up on his Plan B.

At times, Liverpool struggle to break teams down, with numerous late goals coming due to opposition fatigue.

While this is fine when it works, it is not sustainable in the long term.

Liverpool could do with a Plan B to come into play around the hour mark if Plan A is not working.

Klopp could try a three-at-the-back system with more attack-minded midfielders.

Joel Matip could play in between the quicker van Dijk and Joe Gomez. He can bring the ball out of the defence and rely on the other two defenders to cover him.

It should provide enough defensive cover to play attack-minded Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita as a duo in midfield.

With the regular fullbacks and front three, it would be a completely unpredictable system, with attacks coming from all angles.

It is unlikely, but it would do no harm to try it out in these games.

It could be another string to the Liverpool bow, which could help the club dominate against even the stiffest of opposition.

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