Liverpool fans were unhappy with manager Jurgen Klopp not naming left-back Kostas Tsimikas in the squad to face Newcastle United on Wednesday (August 31).
Andrew Robertson retained his place in the first XI after starting all four of Liverpool’s league games this season so far. Tsimikas, meanwhile, has only managed three substitute appearances in the league this month.
He came on as a substitute for Robertson in the 69th minute against Bournemouth on Saturday (August 27) and grabbed two assists in a 9-0 win. Robertson has been Klopp’s favored option down the left-hand side of his defense since the 2017-18 season.
He has scored eight goals and provided 54 assists in 229 games since his move to Liverpool from Hull City in the summer of 2017. Tsimikas was bought from Olympiacos two years ago as competition for the Scotland international.
While the Greek left-back has done well whenever he has played instead of Robertson, the latter continues to be the club’s first-choice pick.
This hasn’t gone down well with some of the Reds faithful, who wanted to see him play after an impressive cameo against the Cherries. Others accused Klopp of favoritism and questioned his decision to rest Tsimikas.
Here are some of the best tweets as found on Twitter:
Elsewhere, Trent Alexander-Arnold starts at right-back, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez in central defense. Roberto Firmino starts with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz in the front three.
Darwin Nunez serves the last of this three-game suspension after he was sent off against Crystal Palace.
Jordan Henderson, Fabinho Tavares, and Harvey Elliott form Liverpool’s midfield three, while Alisson Becker expectedly starts between the posts.
Liverpool desperately need a win against Newcastle United
Liverpool are already trailing league-leaders Manchester City by five points at the time of writing.
The league title has been decided by a solitary point in two of the last four league seasons, with the Cityzens emerging as champions on both occasions.
Hence, Klopp would know that his team cannot afford to let that gap get bigger. The Reds have enjoyed a sensational record against the Toons in recent years. They haven’t lost to them since a 2-0 league defeat in December 2016.
The Merseyside-based giants did the league double over the Magpies last season, winning 3-1 at Anfield and 1-0 at St. James’ Park. However, Newcastle will fancy their chances against them this season.
Backed by Saudi owners and with manager Eddie Howe in charge, they have signed quality players like Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, and Nick Pope this summer.