Burton Albion were promoted to the Championship last season and so far have four points from their opening four games. Their thoughts now turn to tomorrow’s EFL Cup tie against English football greats Liverpool at the Pirelli Stadium.
However, after praising their style of play, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refused to be drawn on any of his selection thoughts ahead of the game according to the Liverpool Echo.
Speaking of what he expects, Klopp told the Echo that: “We have analysed Burton. I have to say, I like the Championship. They’re a good team. Maybe not the best start, but spectacular results with the 4-3 against Norwich, unlucky. It’s a nice story the last two or three years with the promotions. They have an experienced manager, a clear style of play. I would expect 3-5-2 system from them.”
Whilst Burton have lost two of their opening four game, one thing they have shown that they can do against quality opposition is score goals, the Brewers scoring nine times in total and notching a goal in every game so far this season in the league. Particularly impressive have been the three goals they scored in losing to rivals Nottingham forest (4-3) and the trio of goals that they scored to beat Sheffield Wednesday (3-1).
Obviously playing Liverpool will be a big step up in class, but even so Jurgen Klopp has vowed to take tomorrow’s game seriously. One question that the German was asked was whether he’d be playing striker Danny Ings, who transferred to Liverpool from Burnley after a fee decided by tribunal was set at £6.5m with a further £1.5m based on incentives.
Ings was a player who punish Sky Bet Championship sides with 21 goals and 5 assists in the 2013/14 season, before going on to score 11 times in Burnley’s Premier League campaign the following season. However, despite being asked, Klopp was dismissive with his answer saying: “I would really like your job sometimes! I can change everything if I do. I have Origi and Sturridge, but you only ask about one player. I cannot bring them all in. Sometimes for players it is harder and takes a little bit longer. Danny is a wonderful player and a wonderful guy, but we cannot change everything every two days.”
Whoever Liverpool do bring in to lead the line, Burton Albion will have their work cut out to contain what will be a very slick Liverpool outfit.
