JURGEN KLOPP CLAIMS he didn’t bother to check how Manchester City had fared on Saturday, after his Liverpool side had come from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 in stoppage time.
Both of the top two in the Premier League had to fight for points this weekend, with City also leaving it late to turn around a home fixture with Southampton.
Key midfielder Fabinho was rested by Klopp, with the combative Brazilian one booking away from suspension and the crunch clash with City at Anfield looming next weekend.
But Klopp says the prospect of the City game hadn’t been too high up in his thinking ahead of the trip to Villa, with a home fixture with Genk in the Champions League to negotiate first.
“I never thought for a second about the Man City game and the Aston Villa game together,” he said.
“I was never thinking, ‘We should win there because maybe we could lose next week’.
I didn’t even ask about other Premier League results after our game. It’s not important. We play Genk and then we play Man City.
“Yes, it’s important [to win] at Aston Villa. The way they set up, it was really difficult. But we did it. Now we have to collect the bones and prepare for the next challenge against Genk.”
Whatever happens in midweek, home advantage sees Liverpool head into the title shoot-out as likely favourites with City still missing vital defensive cog Aymeric Laporte. The Reds will be looking to stretch their current six-point lead to a considerably more daunting nine.
Last season’s breathless encounter at the Etihad saw Liverpool full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold combine to superb effect for Roberto Firmino’s equaliser in a 2-1 defeat, and the full-backs have continued to star.
Robertson headed in their 87th-minute equaliser at Villa Park before Alexander-Arnold crossed for Sadio Mane to win the game in the 94th minute. Both City and Liverpool thrive on balls played in from wide positions, but Klopp said his side don’t totally rely on their crossing ability for goals.
“As a top team, you always have to find a way,” he said. “If the centre is closed, then it makes sense to use the wing. But if you use the wing constantly, then usually the centre opens up a little bit.
“Our plan isn’t to pass the ball wide and then get it into the box. If you have situations like this, then it’s not a bad idea. But it’s not like a long-ball idea where you are [always] hitting it long and going for the second ball.
“It’s just one option for us and it’s difficult to defend. Everybody can be compact and they are allowed to be really deep, that makes it really difficult and you want to come in behind their last line.
“But I haven’t analysed [all the] other teams so far this season. With Man City, we’ll have a look next week. Maybe there will be a crossing championship next week, we will see!”
