25-man Liverpool squad trains for Aston Villa – no Andy Robertson or Diogo Jota?

May 10, 2024
Jack Lusby

There was no sign of either Andy Robertson or Diogo Jota as Liverpool worked at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, with a 25-man squad pictured in training.

The Reds will have had a full week between fixtures by the time they kick off at Aston Villa, with their penultimate game of the season not until Monday night.

Klopp afforded his players time off in the week to recharge, before preparations resumed, with the manager holding his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of training.

There were no questions on the fitness of his squad, and it appears as though Jota is still not back from the hip injury picked up against Fulham last month.

Robertson was not spotted with the 25-man group either, leading to speculation that Kostas Tsimikas – who is back after missing the squad to face Tottenham last weekend – could start at Villa Park.

There were no new injuries nor a return for the likes of Thiago, Joel Matip or Ben Doak, who have been sidelined for months.

Darwin Nunez was all smiles as he returned to Merseyside following a break at Disneyland, with Klopp dismissing rumours over a summer exit.

“It’s really tough for a young man. He knows about the expectations, he has big expectations for himself,” he told reporters.

“He has to go through it. It’s part of a footballer’s career. That’s all.

“His problem is that he is that good that he is constantly in these moments. If he is a little bit less good, he couldn’t have chances then people would say he’s not great.”

There was a strong contingent of youngsters involved, with regulars Stefan Bajcetic and Conor Bradley joined by James McConnell, Kaide Gordon and Trey Nyoni.

This is despite Liverpool U21s travelling to Tottenham for their quarter-final in the league playoffs on Sunday.