Jürgen Klopp met with the media ahead at the AXA Training Centre of Sunday's match at Anfield on Friday. The manager talked about this weekend's opponent, Arsenal, who stand top of the Premier League going into the game which kicks off at 16:30 GMT/11:30 EDT.
Klopp also gave a fitness update on the injured Reds of the moment, and he touched on the importance of this week's games for the rest of the season, and the value of playing at Anfield.
The Boss began by giving an update on Liverpool's match fitness. It was all good news as it seems Virgil van Dijk will be available for Sunday's match. Also, Thiago Alcântara and Luis Díaz have returned to full training. He said, ”Virgil, completely normal, was back in training. Luis and Thiago training completely normal.”
Thiago remains a game-time decision, based on how he responds to training. Klopp ruled out a return for Díaz this week. The Colombian forward has been sidelined since the last match against Arsenal, on the 9th of October, with a knee injury.
The Boss outlined his scheme for Díaz, “The plan with Luis is that he will be available 100 percent for Leeds. Again, it looks good, everything is fine, but it was a long, long injury and so we have to be careful. We will probably not involve him for Sunday.”
When asked by a reporter if this Arsenal side was different from the ones that he'd faced previously, all Klopp could do was laugh. Arsenal are top of the table in the Premier League coming into the match and the manager knows they are a different team from the ones he's faced before.
“It's obvious it's a different team, clear. Mikel (Arteta) is building this team for a few years now and obviously, the outcome is pretty impressive. The way they play is fun to watch, to be honest, it's super-lively, really good football, top players on the pitch, good match plans,” the Boss explained after having a good chuckle.
Sunday's match against Arsenal is the Reds' first home match in over a month. The last time Liverpool played at Anfield, on the 5th of March, they beat Manchester United 7-0.
When Klopp was asked about the importance of the home crowd he said, “Very important. So obviously we need 40, 50,000 Liverpool [fans] in away games, and it might look different.”
He added, “But it's no secret that the combination of our people and the ground and then the boys is a pretty good combination, so that's what we have to throw in as well – but not relying on it.”
Liverpool have a great opportunity on Sunday to get themselves back into the conversation about European football for next year. But what they also can do is play spoiler for Arsenal's Premier League title hopes.
Klopp talked about trying to find a definition for this Liverpool season. While it has been extremely disappointing, it's not over yet, hopefully, they can define themselves as a team worthy of qualifying for European football next year. If not, they can certainly keep the title race interesting by beating Arsenal.
