Jurgen Klopp is shutting out talk of Liverpool being Premier League title favourites and refusing to look past Thursday’s meeting with bottom club Sheffield United.
Liverpool sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League table following last weekend’s matches, with the Reds fighting back to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 before Manchester City drew 0-0 with Arsenal.
With no more head-to-head fixtures between the title contenders scheduled for the remainder of the season, many believe Liverpool are now favourites to end Klopp’s reign with a second league title, but the German says such talk can only be a distraction.
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“It’s obviously not something we are really aware of. The situation for us is Sheffield United, not who is the favourite,” Klopp said at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“I’m pretty sure when we lost at Arsenal, we were not favourites after that matchday, maybe rightly so, maybe not. I don’t know and I don’t care.
“One of the most important things to get through this period is to ignore the outside mess, because it’s emotional, it goes up and down.
“We have to be professional, to be emotional but in the right way, to be the best version of ourselves, play our best football then see what the outcome is.
“The clearer you can see the opportunity, the easier it is for you to take it.”
Next up, Sheffield United visit Anfield 👊#LIVSHU | @UPS #AD PIC.TWITTER.COM/0WQMMME0QA
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) APRIL 2, 2024
With Sheffield United sitting bottom of the table with just 15 points, Klopp was also asked whether he might consider resting players for Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, who dumped his team out of the FA Cup last month.
He gave that idea short shrift, though, saying: “If I thought now about United, people would have the right to think I’d been in this chair too long. That would make no sense.
“You cannot win football games and not respect the opponent.
“I’ve got no chance to influence the United game in this moment. We will play the players available, we want to use them.”
Liverpool have been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks, and Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota will all miss their next two games.
However, Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson are in contention to face the Blades and Liverpool’s remaining absentees will likely rejoin first-team training next week.
“Curtis is in contention. The other boys are doing well,” Klopp said. “They all trained as a group, which is good.
“But it looks like next week on, hopefully they’ll be back in team training and then we will see.
“Alisson works with the goalkeeping coaches, I see them through the fence. It looks good, but in his mind as well, next week he will be in parts of team training.”
Jürgen Klopp has revealed Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson are set to be available for #LIVSHU, but that Wataru Endo’s fitness needs to be monitored ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) APRIL 3, 2024
