Klopp: Liverpool ready for run of ‘finals’

Jurgen Klopp believes that Liverpool only have “finals” to play before the end of the season.

The Reds find themselves third in the Premier League and facing a fight to complete a top-four finish with seven matches remaining, while they have a double header against Manchester City lined up in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Those two legs against Pep Guardiola's side sandwich the Merseyside Derby on April 7 as the the Anfield outfit look to continue their recent dominance over their local rivals Everton.

It promises to be a thrilling climax to their season and it is one that Klopp is very much looking forward to.

“We only have finals to play from now on,” he said before Saturday’s match with Crystal Palace. “We play Palace and OK, maybe it’s not the final, but it’s unbelievably important for both sides. City, Everton, unbelievably important because it’s a derby.

“As we’ve said, you create the basis for the finish and the final third of the season. We’re in a good position and we have to use it.”

Liverpool’s squad is in almost pristine condition ahead of these fixtures, with Klopp revealing the delicate balance that he has to strike when preparing the team for such a run of fixtures.

“In a Premier League season you cannot train hard. It’s not possible,” he said. “There are constantly games that you have to prepare for. 

“You don’t prepare games like the late 80s any more when you let the players vomit on the pitch. We don’t play more intensive football this season but we had the opportunity to change and rotate and so we did it. 

“We need all the players for both competitions because we are really ambitious. The boys look good at the moment but that is the job, that we bring them to this situation as fresh as possible.”