Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes struggling Manchester United will have extra motivation when the teams meet on Monday and said he would have preferred to play on wins rather than losses against his bottom-placed opponents.
United lost 4-0 to Brentford last weekend after beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 in their first game of the season to sit bottom of the table.
Manager Erik ten Hag faces a daunting task in getting his side to fire against a Liverpool side who beat United 5-0, 4-0 last season, but Klopp reminded fans that his team didn’t get off to a good start in their campaign either.
“Of course I’d rather play them after they won 5-0, but it’s not dreamland, that’s how it is. We also drew twice, so is it better to play us? I don’t know”, Klopp told reporters on Friday.
“We have to deal with all situations. The whole world will be watching, let’s see how these heavyweights deal with the situation.”
Klopp’s side have scored 13 goals in their last three league games with United but the German said they can’t focus on those results ahead of the competition.
“The last two results that I already knew wouldn’t help this time. I couldn’t be less interested in the results of last season… It helps United to be more motivated if that’s possible,” said Klopp.
“It’s a completely different game in a completely different situation.
“United can’t change anything or everything so it’s difficult in terms of preparation but it’s early days and we don’t have a lot of information. It’s tough… United away will never be easy.”
Klopp said defender Joe Gomez will start after coming off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, while striker Roberto Firmino is also available after shaking off a minor muscle problem.