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Jurgen Klopp's assistant manager Pep Lijnders says the Reds are deliberately operating with a small squad in order to give their young talents a chance to progress.

Some Liverpool supporters were left anxious at the club's lack of major transfer activity in the summer, when no new key first-team signings were made.

The only new face in the team this season has been second-choice goalkeeper Adrian, who is only playing at the moment because of injury to first-choice stopper Alisson Becker.

The Reds are set to field several of their younger players in Wednesday's Carabao Cup third round tie at Milton Keynes Dons, and Lijnders says he hopes they will benefit from an environment designed to help them.

(Image: PA)

“Our club is about creating this culture,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday, when he was standing in for Jurgen Klopp following the German's acceptance of the Men's Coach of the Year award at the Best FIFA awards in Milan on Monday.

“I think it’s really important to have an inside pathway, to promote young players, to give them opportunities.

“But I don’t believe in just giving opportunities, it has to be the right opportunity at the right time with the right players.

(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“Because young players need examples around them, they need models and they need to be able to compete.

“If we put young players in a game with senior players around them, that’s the perfect way to develop. First they can see, and they are protected.

“So say we play a left winger, a young one, and our left defender or left midfielder is a senior player, that triangle, that side, he gets protected.

“Young players need models, they need players around them to learn from, instead of criticism."

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Lijnders suggested that young forward Rhian Brewster and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will make their senior debuts for the Reds on Wednesday, with Naby Keita also in line to start .

Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Sadio Mane have all been ruled out, with 16-year-old Harvey Elliott set to be in the matchday squad.