Jurgen Klopp provides injury update on Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak will both be absent when the Reds face Manchester United on Thursday night.

Klopp has said that he is ready to line up with Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams in defence again following their showing against Southampton last weekend.

The German head coach was without Kabak against Southampton due to injury, whilst niggles have prevented Davies from making his Liverpool debut since joining in January.

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ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

Ben Davies is an intriguing case as he continues to miss out on a Liverpool debut. The defender joined the club from Preston for £1.6m in January, as his contract was due to expire at the end of the season, and he has not been given a single minute on the pitch since arriving at Anfield. There has never been a mention of a serious injury for the defender, although Klopp – as mentioned above – has said that he has struggled with his fitness recently, which means that it could also be to do with his ability.

Making the step up from Preston to the – at the time – champions of England was a huge one for Davies. The 25-year-old averaged a respectable WhoScored rating of 6.82 in the first-half of the Championship season with Preston, which is solid but it does not stand out as a level of performance that could lead to him succeeding at Liverpool, a division above the second tier.

Liverpool may have simply signed him as a quick money-making scheme, without trying to sound too harsh on Davies. He is a 25-year-old, English, left-footed, Championship-proven centre-back, which could appeal to clubs attempting to get out of the second division or stay up in the Premier League. This means that Liverpool could quickly sell him on in the summer for more than they paid for him in January, making an ‘easy’ profit on the defender in just six or seven months.