- Loris Karius is set to be selected for Liverpool’s Champions League tie in Porto
- The German has found himself regularly rotated with Belgian Simon Mignolet
- But Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is ready to make Karius the undisputed No 1
Jurgen Klopp will end his policy of rotating goalkeepers and make Loris Karius his undisputed No 1 for the crucial Champions League tie in Porto.
Liverpool’s manager has adopted a routine this season where he has had different goalkeepers for different competitions.
In the first half of the campaign, Karius played in Europe while Simon Mignolet had the responsibility for the Premier League.
Loris Karius is to become Liverpool’s undisputed No 1 goalkeeper until the end of the season
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has previously rotated the German and Belgian Simon Mignolet
There was a switch at the turn of the year, when Karius played in the league and Mignolet had the two FA Cup ties against Everton and West Brom but there will not be a switch in Portugal.
Karius, who arguably had his best performance for Liverpool in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Southampton, will be given the gloves in the last 16 clash and that is how it will remain for until the season reaches a conclusion Klopp says it is ‘no longer the same situation’.
The 24-year-old has come in for stinging criticism at times during his brief career at Anfield but his form in recent weeks has been much more polished and there is no doubt he has the full backing of Klopp.
‘It’s good and I feel good — getting weekly game time is very important,’ said Karius.
But Karius will get the nod in the Champions League against Porto and is Klopp’s first choice
The decision will raise questions as to the long term future of 30-year-old stopper Mignolet
‘I’m still young. I had plenty of experience in the past but it’s different if you play week in, week out again and not just come in every other week for a midweek game.
‘My confidence is coming and growing, I’m getting used to the game time again. It’s good for me.’
A spin-off of this decision, though, will be the long-term future of Mignolet who is 30 next month.
He was devastated to lose his Premier League place to Karius before the game with Manchester City on January 13 and he has reached the stage of his career where he will not accept being someone’s deputy.