Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has admitted he cannot afford to overthink his team selection as his side continues to navigate an intense period of fixtures.
The Reds play their sixth game in a run of nine in 29 days when they host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round at Anfield on Wednesday evening. They then face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, travel to Turkey to play Fenerbahce the following Wednesday, and visit Crystal Palace four days later.
Adapting to a packed schedule
Asked whether the relentless run of matches is forcing him to compromise his coaching ideals, Iraola said: "It is the same for everyone, you don't have time, Chelsea doesn't have time, Arsenal will not have time."
He added: "It makes a big difference if you have one more day or one less day. For example, against Brighton we were lucky even if Brighton brought a different team but at the end you cannot have the training specifically for that game so everything has to be done on the video in one or two days."
"Now it is the opposite against Chelsea, Arsenal, Palace definitely, we have some games where we have less time to rest than the opposition but you have to adapt," Iraola continued. "Sometimes it is to your benefit, sometimes it goes against you like this week. It is a matter of adaptation and you cannot overthink: it analyse straight away what happened but in one hour (clicks fingers) the next game and you have to be ready for this."
Rotation expected against Chelsea
Liverpool are expected to rotate their resources against Chelsea, with Iraola having made at least three changes to his starting line-up in each of the last nine games.
"There will definitely be changes but we want to win the game. We want to be competitive. We need to see how the legs are," the head coach said. "We are not just in the Carabao Cup but also in the Champions League trying to make some changes from game to game as it's necessary."
"We want to be in the next round. We've been unlucky with the draw as we are playing Chelsea, but they have been unlucky also," he added. "We want to earn the right to be in the draw again and that only happens if you win."
