Here is why Klopp fumed at Liverpool fixture schedule ahead of Sunday’s Match

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has expressed his displeasure at the Premier League fixture schedule, asking why his team has been forced to play Burnley three days prior to a crunch Champions League fixture. The Reds have crunch Premier League and Champions League tests within the space of just over 72 hours, to the displeasure of their manager. The Reds saw Manchester City extend their Premier League lead to four points thanks to a 3-1 victory over Watford on Saturday.  They will have the opportunity to once more cut the deficit 24 hours later, when Burnley travel to Anfield. 

That game, however, falls just over 72 hours prior to Liverpool’s second leg against Bayern Munich in Champions League, with the tie poised at 0-0.  And Klopp has questioned the virtue of setting his side’s fixture a day later, while insisting he is not making excuses.  “I don’t think anyone at the Premier League thinks about that. It is not interesting to them,” the German said to reporters. Of course there is a difference between playing on a Saturday or Sunday. If we had three days, we would do recovery on Sunday morning, Monday you can have a little session, Tuesday a proper session and Wednesday you play. Now it’s Sunday, so Monday is recovery and Tuesday is some kind of session. You usually train in the stadium so you can do nothing, shake your legs a bit. It’s a different situation.

The manager suggested that television demands were behind the curious scheduling.  “That is why we will do it a bit different this time and train Tuesday morning here. But it is only the second day after the game and you can not have everybody fully (flat out),” he added. “People think we are looking for excuses, we don’t. We accept how it is but somebody else has to think about it. Somebody else who makes decisions. I don’t know exactly why we play Burnley at 12 o’ clock on Sunday and not Saturday at 3pm. Ask BT (who are showing game live).” Liverpool will follow the Bayern match with a Premier League clash against Fulham next Sunday before heading into the international break, but will return with another crunch showdown against Tottenham to end the month.