Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool must heed the warning of Crystal Palace’s recent victory at Manchester City to avoid a similar shock against Roy Hodgson’s side.
Liverpool are unbeaten in 31 Premier League home matches since Palace recorded a third consecutive away win at Anfield in April 2017. The league leaders can re-establish a seven-point lead over City at the top, at least until Sunday, by extending that sequence to the second longest in the club’s history on Saturday.
Klopp has not focused preparations on Palace’s 3-2 win at City in December because of the limited amount of possession the visitors had that day. But he admits that result should alert his players to the threat posed. “Of course it helps rather than the other way around,” said the Liverpool manager who, referencing the current “Spygate” furore around Marcelo Bielsa, joked he had studied Palace “51 times” this week.
“I saw the City game and the percentage possession was 70 to 80 [78%] for City,” he added. “That’s massive. They scored a beautiful goal and hopefully [Andros] Townsend will not do that again. In counterattacks, at set pieces, it is clear they are good. That’s how a game can happen. But there are other games [to study]. We need to see them play football as well. There was not too much in that game.
“That’s why I watched three different types of games: at least two away games but one home game as well because it gives you a better picture of what they do if you let them. That makes it more important that you don’t allow them. If you let Crystal Palace play they are really good. They play a direct style and they defend pretty deep but at Palace earlier in the season they did exactly the same and we scored at least one goal on a counterattack after a set piece. Use situations like this, it’s all important.”
Klopp has been linked with a surprise reunion with Philippe Coutinho in some quarters recently, with the former Liverpool playmaker struggling to justify his £142m transfer fee at Barcelona. The Liverpool manager dismissed rumours of the Brazil international returning to Anfield this month.
“I would not say it is a potential transfer or a likely one,” he said. “There is nothing to say. There is no story. Phil is at Barcelona and, as I know it, he fits in really well and everything is fine.”
