Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has played down fitness concerns over centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who was substituted early in the second half against Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

Konate suffered a setback early in their Europa League clash against Sparta.

With the crucial Premier League match against City looming on Sunday, Klopp faces additional challenges in managing his squad, adding to the existing absence of key players such as Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Curtis Jones.

Although Joe Gomez was substituted at half-time, there are no indications of an injury concerning his departure.

The upcoming Premier League fixture against City holds significant implications for the title race, with Liverpool currently leading the table by a single point.

The Reds’ precarious situation is heightened by City, who are closely trailing, and Arsenal, just one point behind City.

Klopp now faces the task of navigating these challenges to maintain Liverpool’s position at the top of the league.

Following the match, the German told his post-match press conference: “We don’t know [yet]. Ibou said to me when he passed me in that moment, ‘I thought if I do another sprint then it could be bad.’ So, he said he should be fine, but we don’t know.

“Joey is fine. We took him off, he played a lot of games so that was more rotation, precaution. Now let’s see what is with Ibou.”

Liverpool seized control of their Europa League last-16 clash against Sparta Prague with a convincing 5-1 victory at Stadion Letna.

The Reds established a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime in the Czech capital, thanks to an early penalty converted by Alexis Mac Allister and a stunning brace from Darwin Nunez.

Despite a Conor Bradley own goal early in the second half providing Sparta a glimmer of hope for a comeback, Luis Diaz swiftly extinguished it with a goal in the 53rd minute.

The comprehensive win was sealed when Dominik Szoboszlai netted the fifth goal in stoppage time, firmly placing Jürgen Klopp’s team in control as they head into the return leg at Anfield next week.

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