Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has taken a gibe at Manchester City's Carabao Cup fixture.

The Reds boss was speaking about his reasons for rotating the team against Wolves.

He believed that his attackers needed a rest. And he suggested that if they had faced easier opposition, he may have put some of them in the team.

Liverpool face Brighton on Saturday as they look to extend their lead at the top of the table.

"If you have the full squad together, it's massive [to have a lighter schedule]," Klopp told a pre-match news conference. "It's really good. That's my preferred rhythm.

"It's our situation - it's not that we decided to go out of the EFL Cup or the FA Cup ourselves or that it's not important. That's not how it is.

"We had Chelsea at home, which was probably the most difficult game, it was pretty tight and we lost it. Then Wolves was the situation and we had to make changes after the most intense month of the year in December.

"If we had played a League Two team [instead of Wolves], maybe the offensive line could have played because the intensity is different and you have the ball most of the time, you can play.

"Wolves make the pitch unbelievably big. You have to run. You cannot have the ball all the time. That means you have to understand the expected intensity of the game and you have to make a line-up. That's what we did and we had a few injuries on top.

"I would love to still be in these competitions, but we are not in them. We have to make the best of the time now. I know Pep [Guardiola] said he would prefer to be in four competitions. I would prefer the same.

"We have to make the best of the time and get as many points as possible."