September 23, 2020 1.03 pm This story is over 52 months old

Liverpool stars set to battle Lincoln City

World class talent at LNER Stadium on Thursday

By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincoln City could face off against Liverpool’s big guns in their Carabao Cup tie on Thursday, as the Premier League champions promise a “strong” team will be fielded.

The two sides will face off at the LNER Stadium on Thursday night in the Carabao Cup third round, live on Sky Sports.

There were suggestions that Liverpool would play a rotated side with youngsters rather than some of the superstar talent at the club, but this has been denied by the coaching staff in a press conference.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was not present for the pre-Lincoln City press conference, so it was instead attended by assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

He said: “The team tomorrow will be a strong team, I think you will be surprised.

“We (Liverpool) are playing against a side (Lincoln) who will defend deep, are ready to counter attack, have real speed on the wings and technical players on the inside.

“They’ve scored five goals already this season from counter attacks so we have to be very well prepared.”

https://www.facebook.com/lincolncityfc/posts/10157231835516290

There is a chance that fans could see new £45 million signing Diogo Jota make his debut for the Reds, a man who cost considerably more than Lincoln’s entire squad.

Further evidence to suggest that Liverpool will field more first-team players comes from the fact that Liverpool’s under 21 side played against Wigan Athletic just on Tuesday.

While the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane aren’t likely to feature, players such as James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi look set to start the game.

Lijnders was full of praise for the Imps’ development ahead of the match.

“Lincoln are a club with a great journey so far, particularly over the last four years with two promotions.

“They are a team who are top of the league, and have a manager with lots of experience. We really look forward to the game.”