Don’t think ahead of the next game, Jurgen Klopp urges high-flying Liverpool
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Trent Alexander-Arnold has been a key figure for Liverpool, scoring two goals in their last two league games. It would have been three if not for a Fulham own goal.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is not thinking about a title race just yet as his team travel to Sheffield United for their English Premier League match on Dec 6.
The Reds will head into the game boosted by their thrilling late 4-3 win over Fulham over the weekend.
That dramatic victory meant that Liverpool, who are in second place, have clinched 11 wins in their 11 home games in all competitions this season.
“Our late winner was very important. We can take a lot of things from the game, but we could have done better,” said Klopp.
“And I don’t think for a second about where we could end up (at the end of the season).
“We must be (where we want to be) in April.
“But I have no clue where we will be in April. We can’t think ahead of the next game.”
Despite their peerless home form, Liverpool are winless in their last three away fixtures.
They have, in fact, won only one of their last six away games – a 2-1 League Cup victory over Bournemouth – and have also conceded in all 10 of their matches on the road this season.
But if statistics are anything to go by, the Reds can take comfort in their five straight league wins over the Blades, whose last triumph in this fixture was way back in a League Cup clash in 2003.
Klopp will have to deal with the injury absence of Joel Matip, who was forced off in the second half of the win over Fulham due to a knee issue.
The centre-back joins Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Andrew Robertson, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic on the sidelines.
As for the Blades, George Baldock, Chris Basham, Tom Davies, Rhys Norrington-Davies, John Egan, Daniel Jebbison and Rhian Brewster are all out.
The home side were thrashed 5-0 by Burnley over the weekend and remain rooted to the bottom of the table following a three-game winless streak, which prompted the club to sack Paul Heckingbottom on Dec 5 and replace him with former manager Chris Wilder.
The Blades have failed to keep a clean sheet in the league all season, which is unlikely to change when faced with the attacking prowess of Liverpool – the Reds have 12 goals in their last four games, although 11 of which were scored at home.
Regardless, it will still be a huge surprise if the underdogs can get a positive result.
Klopp, for one, is not too concerned about a “new manager bounce”.
“He has training, maybe another session tomorrow and analysis,” he said, of Wilder’s appointment just a day before the match.
“I don’t think he will change too much in that short period.”
