Jurgen Klopp explains decision to drop Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold & Andy Robertson against Chelsea

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has explained his decision to make several changes for their Premier League clash with Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo have been dropped, while Virgil van Dijk has not travelled with the squad due to illness.

Speaking to Sky Sports pre-match, Klopp revealed why he made so many changes to his lineup following Saturday's 4-1 thrashing by Manchester City.

"Virgil is not available, the rest get a rest, some needed a rest, some players get an opportunity to show tonight. We needed fresh legs, that was clear, we need a fresh mind as well," Klopp said.

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"As I said before, it didn't work out or go well the last few weeks. That's the moment where you have to make changes obviously.

"I really hope we can show a reaction, even though it's not the same team obviously but it's the same as a group. We have to show a reaction.

"For us, it's super serious and we have to show that we care. That's how it is. It doesn't mean you win the game obviously, it's nothing to do with that, you never get guarantees about results, but we have to guarantee performances again. That was not the case. We have to do it for 95 [minutes]. We have a lot of quality to bring on as well."

Chelsea vs Liverpool starting lineups

Chelsea: Kepa; Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella; James, Fernandez, Kante, Kovacic, Chilwell; Felix, Haverz

Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Henderson, Jones; Jota, Firmino, Nunez