KEY POINTS

  • Under-fire pair were heavily criticised following last weekend's 4-1 thrashing by Tottenham at Wembley.
  • Klopp says he would "never let them down".
  • Georginio Wijnaldum confirms reports that he is available to face Huddersfield on Saturday.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has refused to confirm if Simon Mignolet or Dejan Lovren will be dropped for Saturday's (28 October) Premier League fixture against Huddersfield Town, while Georginio Wijnaldum has said he could be back in action after a knee injury.

Mignolet and Lovren received harsh criticism from supporters and pundits alike in the wake of last weekend's error-strewn 4-1 drubbing by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, a match in which the latter was hauled off shortly past the half-hour mark after two individual mistakes led to a pair of Spurs goals.

Klopp refused to single the Croatian international out for criticism, however, revealing only that his substitution was tactical and that he performed no worse than centre-back partner Joel Matip.

The Reds boss has since come under pressure to make defensive changes for the visit of a Huddersfield side managed by close friend and Borussia Dortmund protege David Wagner that surprisingly toppled Manchester United last week, with many calling for Loris Karius to be selected in goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold to be brought in at right-back to allow Joe Gomez to be switched into the middle.

"We will see," Klopp told Football Focus with a chuckle when asked if he could take Mignolet and Lovren out of the firing line.

"That's our job and that's the world out there. If you've found somebody who made a mistake then we go on them. But when we make a mistake ourselves, then we don't want anybody to realise it.

"I never would let them down. Never would that happen. But it's not my job. I hope they were smart enough not to read it [the criticism]. I'm 50, so I'm clear in my mind, but I don't read it because it makes no sense why I should read that.

"If somebody says I have no clue about football, it's not right but on the other hand it doesn't help so why should I read it? For the boys it would be good that they do the same, but on the other it's not the biggest problem in the world.

"We made mistakes in that game, and if people said 'yes, you made a mistake', we knew that already before. It's only about reaction. It's always about reaction. If you don't feel well, you have to change the situation, and that's what we have to do."

Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Bogdan all remained sidelined for the visit of Huddersfield, although recent suggestions that Wijnaldum will be fit to play after responding well to treatment on the knee injury that ruled him out of the trip to Tottenham were seemingly accurate.

"The knee is good now," the Dutch midfielder told Liverpool's official website at Melwood. "I was unlucky that in training before the game I had a kick on it, it was in a duel. [James] Milner tried to shoot and I tried to block but I was a little bit late with my block, he'd already shot the ball and he swung his foot on the inside of my knee.

"At first it didn't look like it was that bad, but after training I had more pain than during training and the day after, on Sunday before the game, I had a lot of pain. I could barely walk, so it was not possible to play.

"I'm still in a little bit of pain but I can play with it. I had full training yesterday and felt good so probably I can play. The manager decides if he's going to put me in the first XI, but I will be available."

Dejan Lovren
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren was humiliated against Tottenham