Happy UEFA Champions League Final week everybody! Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will clash on Saturday at the home of Atletico Madrid, and one of the managers/clubs is guaranteed to see his/their trophy drought out come to an end.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp met the media today, and we have video of the entire session, via YouTube, embedded below. During the presser, Klopp gave the latest fitness updates on forward Roberto Firmino and midfielder Naby Keita.
“Bobby [Firmino] trained and was part of training last week,” Klopp told the group of assembled reporters.
“He looked really good, fine and will be training from tomorrow again. All we have seen so far is good, so he will be fine, for sure.”
Firmino, who has been battling a muscular injury, has not played since the very first day of the month, when he put in 11 minutes off the bench during the 3-0 Champions League semifinal first-leg defeat at Barcelona.
As for Keita, he was replaced during the first half of the same game and has not featured since.
However, he was included in Guinea’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“There is no chance for Naby,” Klopp said.
“He is really progressing well, so we will see how it works out for Africa Cup of Nations.”
Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur UEFA Champions League Final FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, June 1, 8pm, Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid
Injury Report: Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool
Exclusive interview/match preview with LFC UCL legend Vladimir Smicer: part 1 part 2
Starting XI Predictions (coming later this week): Liverpool Tottenham Hotspur
Manager Press Conference Videos and Quotes: Mauricio Pochettino Jurgen Klopp
Google Result Probability (after 90 minutes): Liverpool win 48% draw 27% Tottenham Hotspur win 25%
Prediction: Liverpool 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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