Photo: BBC/Reuters
The German chose to leave the pair out of the starting 11 in Saturday�s 1-1 draw with champions Chelsea, a decision that drew criticism on social media.
Although Mane came on for the final few minutes, Firmino was an unused substitute as Liverpool conceded a late equaliser at Anfield.
Both men played the entirety of last week�s draw at Sevilla in the Champions League.
�It made sense at this part of the season to use the strength of the squad. It�s not completely unlikely they (Firmino and Mane) will start (against Stoke),�� Klopp said at a news conference on Tuesday.
�For the last one, maybe we thought against Chelsea maybe he needs a rest or whatever � [but] it was that we needed fresh legs against Chelsea and that�s what we wanted to have. I thought it worked quite well.
�It was a very important sign for the squad and from my side that I show the faith in all of the boys. It was very important for me that the boys showed me they are 100 per cent ready, so that was good � really good.�
Klopp said Emre Can, who also missed the Chelsea game with a muscle problem, was now fit.
Dejan Lovren was also �close�� to a return after suffering a series of problems and could feature against Stoke.
Sixth-placed Liverpool are 14 points behind the leaders Manchester City, who beat Huddersfield Town 2-1 on Sunday, a gap which Klopp suggested his team were unlikely to breach.
�I saw the game against Huddersfield, It was deserved that City won. They win and if they win nobody else has a chance.
�As long as City keep winning, then no-one else has a chance. I don�t care about this at the moment. If anyone struggles we need to be there.
�This is now a really decisive period of the season. We need to be spot on.�
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