When Liverpool plays Tottenham in their 36th Premier League match of the season, Jurgen Klopp is probably going to make additional changes, and Virgil van Dijk will not be playing.

With just three games remaining and virtually little chance of winning the championship, Klopp wants his team to perform without stress.

It all begins on Sunday when Spurs visit, having lost three of their previous four Premier League games—a 2-2 draw at West Ham the previous weekend, as well as defeats to Crystal Palace and Everton.

“If we could play really, really good football again, that would be really cool,” he stated on Friday. We were obviously quite tense during the past few weeks, so that would be really pleasant.

After a tough run of games in which Klopp rotated his team throughout, Liverpool’s performance against West Ham was far from their best last time out.

With just three games remaining in a span of two weeks, that rotation is probably coming to an end, and the manager may want to go back to his strongest team on paper.

Still, there is a puzzle raised by Van Dijk’s potential absence. We could observe:

But with Liverpool’s inconsistent play and the uncertainty surrounding Van Dijk’s absence, the starting XI is definitely subject to change.

It is questionable if individuals such as Konate, Jones, and Nunez deserve their positions, which may lead to difficult choices being made:

Given Klopp’s faith in the group and his belief that “class is permanent, form is temporary,” it seems likely that we will witness a lineup that is as near to Liverpool’s starting eleven on Sunday.

When the teamsheet is made public, there is still a chance for surprises, and Gravenberch and Gakpo are two players to keep an eye out for.