Jürgen Klopp: These games are the salt in the soup!
Manchester United versus Liverpool is a fixture that fuels the footballing fire burning within Jürgen Klopp.
The Reds’ boss takes his Premier League leaders to Old Trafford on Sunday for the 203rd edition of one of the game’s most significant rivalries.
A first victory there during his tenure would see Liverpool extend their winning top-flight winning sequence at the start of 2019-20 to nine matches and 18 overall - and Klopp is excited about the prospect of facing United for the 10th time.
“A lot, a lot! The salt in the soup, eh?! It's really great,” the manager said, when asked how much he enjoys such occasions.
“I think we said similar things a couple of times before in a press conference that you would love to prepare with a full week or two weeks or whatever, now we have that international break and for both teams the same situation.
“The players from the international duties came back all healthy which is very, very important. Now we had three or four days with the full squad to prepare it, which is a little bit [more] comfortable at least than two days.
“But no, I love it. The talk in the press conference is so loud so for you obviously it’s exciting as well. All the things around, the stats, the information… in the end we have to play football. We will fight, 100 per cent, but we have to play football as well and we can do that.
“That's all I am concerned about, what I want to see is this kind of mix between outstanding attitude and really brave football so that’s what we have to try.
“But with all the things you wrote or said about them in the last few weeks, they don’t have any influence on that game. It just makes them more desperate to change the situation and they will try that 100 per cent, but we will try to improve our situation and we will see who wants it more.”
Liverpool’s last win at Old Trafford preceded Klopp’s arrival by 19 months - a resounding 3-0 success in March 2014.
Klopp, though, is not unduly concerned by the Reds’ recent away record against United.
He continued: “I never really struggled with confidence, to be honest! I don’t know for which reason!
“But I’m not sure, how I never am before a game, that’s how it is. I’m quite optimistic that we have a chance, that’s pretty much what we have in every other game as well.
“History in this case is not really important but it gives you for sure a little sign because we like to create and use atmosphere in our stadium, in Anfield, which is incredibly helpful, but Old Trafford is not too bad as well in that department so I’m sure they are all on their toes already, they wait for us.
“They said we are the perfect opponent. These are all things you can see like this, of course, but you don’t have to see. I don’t think there are a lot of teams who would love to play us in the moment, it looks like Man United is the only one who wants to play us and we have to make sure it’s a misunderstanding.
“It’s just normal, I would do exactly the same if the situation would be the other way around: ‘This is the game we can change the world.’ That’s how I would prepare it so why shouldn’t Ole do that? I can see that but this history, our stats, I have absolutely nothing to do with that.”