Jurgen Klopp must avoid old mistake in Europa League dead rubber

Jurgen Klopp must avoid an old mistake of his as Liverpool take on Union SG in the UEFA Europa League this week. The game carries no meaning for the Reds.

Liverpool will play their final Europa League group game on Thursday against Union SG. In recent years, the final group game has carried a lot of weight but that's not the case this time around.

The Reds are already through as group winners, meaning the result has no bearing on their final position. They can lose 8-0 and it won't change a thing going forward.

It's why Jurgen Klopp is expected to rotate heavily. Not only is this a dead rubber but this is also the busy Christmas period - resting players is absolutely vital right now. That's even more true right now as Manchester United travel to Anfield on Sunday. You want to keep your stars fresh for that one.

Klopp has hinted that he'll bring out the kids for this one. But should the entire team be squad players and Under 23 stars? It's a question that has a weight of evidence towards 'yes'.

After all, we've been here before. Klopp opted to play some stars in a dead rubber against Midtjylland back in 2020 with disastrous results. Diogo Jota, then on a hot streak in front of goal, suffered a leg injury that kept him out for around three months.

And this was during a season when the Reds already had their problems with injuries. It was a full-blown crisis.

It's easy to hope that was a lesson learned, then. Liverpool have their own injury problems right now - in fact, Jota is out - while Mohamed Salah will disappear to AFCON early next year. Avoiding unnecessary injuries is a must and that means making sure the right players remain at home this week.

It's just not worth the risk.