IT’S the Reds first mad Friday night matchday of the season and as such there’s not actually much going on, as everybody sits and waits for the match to get underway. We’ll cover everything that has happened here for you, though, so read on.

Sounds like the trip down south has been a nightmare — no change there then — so, perhaps luckily, I’m stuck in the office watching the clock tick down to 8pm.

Matip To Jib Cameroon

German-born Cameroonian Joel Matip has decided he’s unlikely to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations in January, as he wants to focus on his career with Liverpool.

Matip has 27 caps for Cameroon, but has been on a self-imposed exile from the team for just over a year, and it seems he’s set to continue that in favour of making a good start to his Reds career.

The defender has also been talking about the challenge of playing against Diego Costa, and has insisted: “If an opponent tries to talk to me during the game, really, I don’t give a fuck. They can say what they want.”

Go ‘ed, Joel. Right into these.

When Carra Met Sadio

Jamie Carragher has been to visit Sadio Mane at Melwood, as part of Sky’s ‘Friday Night Football’ features. The pair spoke about tonight’s game, the differences between Klopp and his former manager Ronald Koeman and playing at Anfield.

Mane told Carra, when asked about the difference between Liverpool and Southampton: “I think there is a big difference because Liverpool is a big team of course, but I also had two great seasons with Southampton with nice people and we had a good manager like Ronald Koeman.

“We were successful because we went into Europe. I’m not there anymore, but I’m happy to be at Liverpool. Everything is going well for us at the moment and I think it will continue.”

Is right, Sadio. Now, if you wanna jib off Senegal as well…

Barrett On Sturridge

Our mate Tony Barrett has penned a great piece about Daniel Sturridge, after recently starting his new job at JOE.co.uk, and it’s boss.

Tony talks about the relationship between Klopp and Sturridge, which many have assumed is strained, insisting that both parties have the team’s best interests at heart.

Anyway, read it here.

Brew News

Oli, our work experience lad, had never had a brew in his life! So yesterday we gave him his first ever cup of tea — and naturally broadcast the occasion live on Facebook.

Today, he took the next natural step in the process, making his first brews for the lads in the office.

We also broadcast this to the Facebook. Don’t say we don’t spoil you for content.

https://www.facebook.com/TheAnfieldWrap/videos/1376218582407737/

Today’s Write-Ups

Couple of new pieces on the site today. Firstly, we’ve got Mike Nevin’s column in which he talks about the importance of instilling a tougher mindset within the Liverpool side, and how he thinks Klopp can go about doing just that. Read that here.

Then Sean Rogers has offered his tactical perspective on how the Reds will approach the next two league games, with particular emphasis on tonight’s game at Chelsea, which you can read here.

Also, make sure you read our pre-match buildup pieces: Enemy Lines and Rob Gutmann’s Big Match Preview — which is getting a lot of heat from opposition fans.

That’s all folks. Enjoy the game. Up the Reds.

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