LONDON • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned his players to brace for a fierce fight with the Chelsea youngsters who remind him of his thrilling Borussia Dortmund sides that once took Germany and Europe by storm.
Klopp, whose Premier League leaders take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge today, built a dynamic team in his seven years at Dortmund (2008-2015) fuelled by gifted prodigies including Mario Gotze, Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski.
He sees more than a few similarities between the Dortmund teams that won the Bundesliga in consecutive seasons and reached the Champions League final in 2013, and the way Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has put his faith in the Blues' kids.
"It's a really exciting team, it reminds me a little bit of my team at Dortmund years back when they were really young," Klopp said.
"People always talked about how young they were but they only played because they were that good, they didn't play because they were that young.
"Chelsea brought in Christian Pulisic in the summer and all the players around him have the same value - Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, (Callum) Hudson-Odoi.
"A good team, all my respect. They are proper contenders for pretty much everything."
Academy graduates Abraham, 21, Mount, 20, and Fikayo Tomori, 21, have all enjoyed strong starts to Lampard's first season in charge, with Chelsea's transfer ban forcing their new manager to give the youngsters an opportunity to shine.
Abraham already has seven league goals, while Mount, with three goals, is hopeful of featuring today after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in Tuesday's Champions League 1-0 home defeat to Valencia.
Liverpool have won all their opening five league matches but have only one away win against top-six opposition from 12 trips - a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Wembley last September, versus six draws and five defeats.
Despite his praise for Chelsea's young tyros, Klopp must fancy his chances of ending that frustrating streak against a team still looking for their first home win under Lampard.
Liverpool had their own midweek blip in the Champions League, a 2-0 loss at Napoli bringing the holders back down to earth after their superb start to the domestic season.
But the Reds have already beaten Chelsea on penalties to win the European Super Cup after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul last month.
"You can't go to Chelsea and (think) you have a guarantee that you are going to win, they are just too strong for that," Klopp insisted.
"We cannot plan winning against a side like Chelsea... You have to play how you play to deny their strengths and push through your strengths. Then you have a chance."
The Blues have won two, drawn two and lost one in five matches but Lampard believes there are "signs of improvement" and is eager for Mount to face Liverpool today.
"He has got a chance. We saw the image of the tackle which made it look really bad. Hopefully it is not so bad," he said. "We are trying, the good thing about Mason is his attitude is so good that he will give everything to play for this club."
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