Month: April 2023

Ruben Selles insists he is not overlooking Southampton’s January signings due to a lack of quality after his side slid closer to Premier League relegation.

Paul Onuachu and Mislav Orsic were left out of Saints’ squad for Thursday evening’s damaging 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, while £22million club record signing Kamaldeen Sulemana was restricted to 14 minutes from the bench.

Defeat to the Cherries at St Mary’s left bottom club Southampton six points from safety with only five games to go.

Manager Selles, who replaced the sacked Nathan Jones in February, pointed to the size of his squad as he refuted suggestions he does not rate the recent arrivals.

“Mislav was in the squad last week and Onuachu was also in the squad last week, I don’t think it is the same ones (being left out),” said the Spaniard.

“I don’t think it is a lack of quality, it is about decisions.

“I need to make decisions and then I have to give to you some comment on that. It is not about the quality of the boys.”

Ghana winger Sulemana has struggled to nail down a regular starting role following his move from Rennes, while £15.8m former Genk striker Onuachu has not started in the league since February.

Croatia winger Orsic, who cost a reported £6m from Dinamo Zagreb, has played only six minutes for Saints in the top flight and not featured at all under Selles.

“I will not evaluate the board,” replied the coach, when asked if the club had bought players who are not good enough.

“I have a big squad with 30 or 31 players in the first team. And then of course we talk always about the players who are not there.

“I just know that I have to manage a big squad.

“We can defend any decision with some different parameters but the reality is that because we have that big a squad we will always talk about the ones that are not in the squad.”

Southampton’s uphill survival mission continues on Sunday with a daunting trip to Champions League-chasing Newcastle.

Selles is hopeful captain James Ward-Prowse will be fit to lead the team at St James’ Park after being forced off by illness at half-time on a soggy south-coast evening.

“He wanted to play but with the weather conditions that we had during the first half it was too much for him, so he ran out of energy,” Selles said of the England midfielder, who had a sore throat.

“I need to speak with the doctor. I think he will be OK but with those things the doctor needs to let me know.”

Marcus Tavernier’s deflected strike moved Bournemouth seven points clear of the drop zone, while VAR denied Southampton substitute Che Adams a late equaliser due to offside.

Adams’ 89th-minute finish initially looked set to compound Gary O’Neil’s frustration after the visitors were denied a second-half penalty when Jan Bednarek handled Ryan Christie’s cross.

“I don’t see any difference between that and some of the ones we’ve had given against us this year,” said the Cherries boss.

“His arm’s a long way from his body, the ball’s going into a dangerous area, I can’t see why.

“To have it dismissed so quickly…I remember sitting in our dugout when they go against us for ages waiting, they’re watching eight different camera angles being played in slow motion.

“This one, maybe an eight-second check and then we’re told it’s clear. And then I see the replay and I cannot believe that’s not been given as a penalty.”

Arsenal face a must-win clash in the Premier League title race against London rivals Chelsea on Matchday 34 as Manchester City travel to Fulham.

Manchester United host Aston Villa and Liverpool collide with Tottenham as the battle for the Europa League hots up, while Leicester and Everton face off in a relegation six-pointer.

Read on as we preview all 10 top-flight games.

Crystal Palace vs West Ham (Saturday, 12.30pm, BT Sport)

Both Crystal Palace and West Ham are within touching distance of safety as the pair kick off the Premier League weekend.

Roy Hodgson’s Palace are eight points clear of the relegation zone, while two wins and a draw from West Ham’s last four games means survival can be all but sealed with another victory.

The Eagles ran out 2-1 winners in November’s reverse fixture but the Hammers will be buoyed by their record of just one defeat in eight league games at Selhurst Park.

Declan Rice is in line to make his 200th Premier League appearance, making the 24-year-old the ninth youngest to do so in the history of the competition.

Brentford vs Nottingham Forest (Saturday, 3pm)

Brentford and Nottingham Forest go head-to-head with both having secured superb midweek victories that have bolstered their respective European and survival prospects.

The Bees beat West London rivals Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, while their Europa League-chasing rivals Brighton were beaten 3-1 at the City Ground.

That lifted Steve Cooper’s men a point out of the bottom three and focus will now turn to ending a disastrous run of six straight away defeats.

In contrast. Brentford have lost just twice at their home ground all season, only failing to score in two of their 16 clashes at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brighton vs Wolves (Saturday, 3pm)

Brighton will hope to end a difficult week on a high by getting the better of Wolves at home.

The Seagulls suffered FA Cup semi-final heartbreak against Manchester United on penalties last Sunday before their top-six hopes were dented by Forest.

Julen Lopetegui’s men are beginning to prepare for Premier League football last season with three wins from four taking them up to 37 points.

Following his consolation goal for Brighton in midweek, Facundo Buonanotte has a chance of becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to net in his first two starts at 18 years and 127 days.

Bournemouth vs Leeds (Sunday, 2pm)

Bournemouth saw off Southampton to take themselves within touching distance of safety and will now look to plunge Leeds into further danger.

The Cherries raced six points clear of the drop zone with that 1-0 win at St Mary’s, while their Yorkshire opponents remain just one clear after being held by Leicester on Tuesday.

Gary O’Neil’s men were soundly beaten 4-0 by West Ham in their last home game and have lost 22 of their last 30 Premier League games played on a Sunday.

Only Forest (six) have claimed fewer away points than the Whites this season (nine) and they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 18 on the road.

Fulham vs Manchester City (Sunday, 2pm)

A sensational 4-1 win over Arsenal means City have the Premier League title firmly within their grasp ahead of a trip to Fulham.

The Citizens remain two points behind the Gunners at the top but crucially have two games in hand over their title rivals.

They head to a team they have not lost to in 15 meetings in all competitions, including wins in each of the most recent 13.

Kevin De Bruyne was the star of the show at the Etihad on Wednesday, taking his tally to a sensational three goals and four assists in the last four games.

Manchester United vs Aston Villa (Sunday, 2pm)

Just three days after surrendering a two-goal lead against Tottenham, United have another tough fixture as in-form Villa visit Old Trafford.

The Villans enter the weekend in sixth after a 10-game unbeaten run with 26 points from 30 available allowing them to dream of a return to European football.

Villa have beaten the Red Devils in two of the last three meetings, while Unai Emery has two wins and two draws in his four Premier League clashes against them.

Marcus Rashford can become the first player to score in 20 home games in a season for United since Wayne Rooney in 2009-10, while Jacob Ramsey will look to score in his third successive game against the Red Devils.

Newcastle vs Southampton (Sunday, 2pm)

Qualification for the Champions League looks to be a formality for Newcastle after seeing off Everton 4-1, with Southampton’s relegation seemingly all but sealed too.

The Saints’ 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Thursday leaves them six points off safety with five games to play and with no win in eight, hopes of extending their 11-year top-flight stay are fading fast.

To make matters worse, the South Coast club have won just one of their last 17 trips to St James’ Park, while they are without a win in 18 games against teams starting the day in the top four.

Joe Willock has scored more goals against Southampton than he has versus any other team (three) and is looking to add to his three goal involvements in his last three home games (one goal, two assists).

Liverpool vs Tottenham (Sunday, 4.30pm, Sky Sports)

A key clash in the race for Europa League qualification sees Liverpool welcome Tottenham to Anfield.

Spurs proved there are still signs of life in their season in their spirited comeback draw with United, with the Reds overcoming West Ham 2-1 on Wednesday.

It leaves Jurgen Klopp’s men a point adrift of fifth-placed Spurs having played a game less, while they boast a far superior goal difference than their North London counterparts.

Liverpool have lost just one of the last 20 Premier League meetings between these two and only two of the last 35 against them at Anfield.

Leicester vs Everton (Monday, 8pm, Sky Sports)

Monday sees potentially the most pivotal game in both Leicester and Everton’s seasons as the relegation-threatened pair face off.

Defeat for either side, who are 18th and 19th respectively, could well consign them to the Championship next season — making this a real six-pointer.

The Toffees are enduring a tough run of form at the worst time with no wins in their last six — but they have enjoyed successes in their last two trips to the King Power Stadium.

Dean Smith has picked up four points from three games as Foxes boss, while he has won four and lost none of his six previous Premier League meetings with the Merseysiders.

Arsenal vs Chelsea (Tuesday, 8pm, Sky Sports)

Arsenal know they need three points against Chelsea to have any chance of remaining in the title race.

Mikel Arteta’s men are without a win in four after three successive draws and a damaging 4-1 defeat to City in midweek.

Chelsea have lost all five games in all competitions since Frank Lampard returned to the Stamford Bridge hotseat, their worst run of defeats since a six-game sequence between October and November 1993.

The Gunners have never lost a midweek Premier League game against the Blues, winning four and drawing six.

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Work to do

Gary O’Neil insists Bournemouth cannot afford to rest on their laurels after last night’s 1-0 win at Southampton. 

The Cherries head to Leeds on Sunday knowing victory will all but secure their Premier League status for another season. 

And O’Neil, 39, wants his side to keep pushing. He said: “At this moment, it’s not about each place, it’s still about avoiding the bottom three. 

“I still believe 36 points could be relegated. 

“I think maybe the world felt we were fine when we left Tottenham  [after a 3-2 win] and then you get a performance against West Ham [when we lost 4-0], so that’s a good lesson for the boys. 

“You think everything is rosy and then you get a kick up the backside. 

“Hopefully that prepares us well for what will be a tough ask against Leeds.”

Europe or bust

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool will take whatever they can get when it comes to European qualification. 

The Reds were widely expected to finish in the top four and secure a Champions League spot but Klopp’s side currently sit seventh in the Premier League after a turbulent campaign. 

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s visit from fifth-placed Tottenham, the Kop boss said: “We take what we get. It is not we said would be fantastic at the start of the season but this season taught us a few things. 

“If it is Europa League, it is Europa League. 

“We have to be focused on Tottenham. What happens in the next few weeks will be very important for next season.”

BIg loss

Steve Cooper admits losing Neco Williams for the rest of the season is a big blow to relegation-haunted Nottingham Forest. 

The Wales international, 22, was taken off in the 65th minute of Forest’s 3-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday after colliding with team-mate Brennan Johnson.

Reflecting on Williams’ broken jaw, Cooper said: “Obviously it’s not good. I think everyone saw the collision on the pitch and unfortunately it’s a fracture of the jaw. 

“He’s had an operation, which has gone well. It’s a difficult situation for him and rules him out for the rest of the season. 

“It’s a blow for us and for him.”

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Harry Kane has revealed Monday’s crunch talks with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy revolved around the possibility of the club finishing eighth or ninth after he admitted the Newcastle result had been building since last month.

Levy sacked Cristian Stellini following Sunday’s 6-1 thrashing at St James’ Park and consulted Spurs’ player committee, which is understood to comprise captain Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Kane.

Stellini had only been acting head coach for four matches after he stepped up to replace Antonio Conte, who departed a week after his explosive post-match comments at Southampton where he was critical of his own “selfish players” who he insisted did not want to play under pressure.

Kane, speaking after Thursday’s spirited 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United, hinted for the first time the impact Conte’s words had on the squad.

“The chairman asked for a meeting. Obviously I won’t go into what was said but I think it was important (for him) to understand where the players’ heads were at in that moment,” Kane said.

“Obviously coming off the back of that (Newcastle) result and it wasn’t just that result, it had been building up since the international break when we conceded the two goals against Southampton.

“It was an honest conversation of where everyone is at and what we need to try to do to give us the best possible chance to finish the season with something.

“We’re still fighting for fourth place but if it’s not fourth we’ll try to finish fifth or sixth, as high up as we can.

“In this league, it’s so competitive, you can easily end up eighth or ninth if you’re not careful. That’s what it was – to give us the best chance and I’m glad we reacted like that.”

Kane was applauded off at full-time along with the rest of his team-mates on Thursday night but the atmosphere had threatened to turn toxic when Marcus Rashford added to Jadon Sancho’s early opener to make it 2-0 to United at the break.

It left Ryan Mason, in his second caretaker spell in charge, with a big half-time team talk but the 31-year-old exuded calm and saw Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min net in the second period to help Tottenham restore some pride after Sunday’s humiliation in the north east.

Kane added: “It was quite calm. Ryan said not to try to get back in the game in the first five minutes of the second half.

“He said, ‘there’s another 45 minutes, be compact, be ready to hurt them like we did in the first half but now we have to be more clinical’.

“We all said once we get one, we know we can really put pressure on them and that’s what happened. A shame we couldn’t then get the third but overall, when you’re 2-0 down, it was good to get a point out of it.

“I think Ryan’s been great. He’s come in at a really difficult time after that defeat and he’s not had long to implement any style, so it’s all been about motivation and getting some belief back in the boys.

“I’ve known Ryan a long, long time. He’s a great football brain. He sees the game in a really good way, he’s worked under some fantastic managers so far.

“So look, we’re all fully behind him. We really want to work for him and try to finish the season as strong as we can.

“And he’s a great guy and a great manager. Hopefully we can finish strong and see what happens.”

The Tottenham players reimbursed the away support at Newcastle and while Kane knows it will not make up for the result, he praised their support during Thursday’s draw with United.

“When you travel that far and you’re 5-0 down in 20 minutes, it’s not acceptable on any level,” Kane accepted.

“So, we know it wasn’t going to magically change their feelings or make the result any better but it was still something as a group we wanted to do to try to show we’re all together in this moment.

“And I thought the fans were amazing.”

Kane did not only receive support from the Spurs supporters on Thursday, with the United away following singing they would see him in June amid speculation over his future with just 14 months left on his contract.

But the Tottenham vice-captain insisted: “I heard what they were saying but I’m just focused on this team and trying to finish strongly.”

Napoli’s Serie A clash with Salernitana this weekend has been rescheduled by one day due to public security concerns, it has been confirmed.

The Partenopei had been set to play on Saturday, but will now take to the pitch at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday instead.

The move comes with Luciano Spalletti’s side poised to win the Scudetto if Lazio fail to beat Inter at San Siro during an earlier kick-off the same day.

Serie A’s decision to postpone the fixture, however, has forced a further reshuffle for Napoli’s fixture list, with their game against Udinese affected.

Originally due to take place on Tuesday, the game will now be played two days later on Thursday, in what could be their first game as champions.

It also means Udinese have suffered a further postponement of their own, with their clash against Sampdoria delayed by a day from a week on Sunday to the Monday afterwards.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper says there is “no ill feeling” with Jonjo Shelvey after their recent falling-out and the midfielder will be available for the visit to Brentford.

Shelvey, who has been carrying a knock, was left out of Wednesday’s win over Brighton as a result of his tantrum at also being omitted from the previous match at Liverpool.

Cooper says the incident has been blown out of proportion and their relationship is fine ahead of the crucial run-in.

Asked whether he was left out against Brighton as a result of his behaviour prior to the Anfield trip, Cooper said: “And a knock to be honest. Sometimes things are not exactly what they are and we have to accept that.

“Everyone is good, we are looking forward. He is really well liked in the dressing room and we need everybody in the situation we are in, with the injuries we are picking up.

“There is no ill feeling in any way, shape or form, regardless of what may or may not have been said. We need everyone to stick together and get behind everybody and that’s what we’re doing.

“Jonjo is available. He was carrying a knock last week and there was one or two other things, it is not a big a drama as was said, in some ways it was a training ground thing, but it is past us and we are looking forward to going to Brentford. He is 100 per cent available.”

Neco Williams will not be available after he suffered a fractured jaw in the win over Brighton and will miss the rest of the season following surgery.

The injury came just as the Wales international had regained his place in the team.

Cooper said: “Not good, when you saw the collison on the pitch, you feared the worst and unfortunately it is bad news, with the fractured jaw.

“He has had an operation and it has gone well in a difficult situation for him and it rules him out for the season and now he is on the road to recovery.

“It is a difficult situation for him, he got himself back into the team recently and was playing well and a confidence about him and had a spring in his step. It’s a blow for us and a blow for him.”

Forest will assess Moussa Niakhate, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Seagulls, and Taiwo Awoniyi, who suffered a shoulder problem.

On Niakhate, Cooper said: “It is still inconclusive with that one, we will have to see with regards to tomorrow but we definitely did the right thing, he felt something in the game and we were able to make the change but regarding the extent of his availability we will have to see on that.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists it is too early to declare his side are “out of the woods” in terms of eradicating the inconsistencies which have blighted their season.

The midweek victory over West Ham made it three wins in succession, extended their unbeaten run to five matches, and maintained their outside chance of sneaking into the top four.

On Sunday at home to Tottenham, Liverpool have a chance to win a fourth league game in a row for only the second time this season – that came in November and December and was separated by the World Cup – but Klopp said it would be wrong to assume everything had now clicked back into place.

“It is, for me too early to speak about consistency,” he said.

“Winning three games is not for me consistent, it is good but can only be the start of something.

“It is about consistency you show in performances even more than results. For the outside world it is the result but for us it must be performances because that is what we work with.

“I am happy with that in the moment because in all the games, as different as they were, I saw a lot of things we want to see in the games and that is then really good.

“There is always something to improve and that’s fine that’s what we try to do as well.

“I am absolutely OK with the moment but it is not that I already trust ourselves that much to say ‘That’s it now, we are out of the woods’ because this season gave us a few lessons I didn’t want to learn, but learned.

“We have to be super-aggressive, super-greedy and show that the most important prize in football is the three points at the weekend and that’s all we have to be focused on.”

Consistency has certainly returned to Klopp’s team selection as he has made just one change over the course of the last four matches and that was the precautionary resting of Ibrahima Konate for Wednesday’s victory over the Hammers.

Coincidentally it was his replacement at centre-back Joel Matip who scored the winner but Konate is likely to return at Anfield on Sunday.

But Klopp acknowledges having a stable team has led to better baseline performances.

“We didn’t change because we won the game before, we didn’t change because we set the team up slightly differently and wanted to give the boys the chance to find some rhythm and get used to different things,” he added.

“Number two is I said the ticket into this team will always be the readiness to defend and to counter-press and I like a lot of that what I saw.

“And if you say that you have to give the credit for it as well, so you can buy the ticket again.

“What it created was a situation in training where the boys who didn’t start showed properly up so we could have changed quite a lot because they really knock on the door.

“The difference is we had time to train. When you have time to train they can show up because in a normal week with three games you have recovery and the only guys who train are the ones who didn’t play the game before and the next day is second-day recovery for the guys who played.”

West Ham skipper Declan Rice is at the top of Arsenal’s summer wishlist as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in midfield reinforcements.

The 24-year-old remains desperate to play in the Champions League and could force a move away from the Hammers to achieve this.

And with the Gunners set to return to Europe’s elite competition next season, they may tempt the East Londoners into selling their star man.

The Telegraph suggest that the Premier League leaders will face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United but David Moyes will demand over £100million for his No41.

Rice has helped lead West Ham to the Europa Conference League semi-finals this term and could become the club’s third captain to lift European silverware.

It would be a fitting end to his tenure in East London and would allow the powerhouse to leave on good terms with the fans.

The 41-cap international has just one year remaining on his contract and could leave for free at the end of the next campaign should the Hammers refuse to sanction his departure.

But with so many clubs keen on the academy graduate, it seems increasingly likely that Rice will move on in the coming months.

In other news

Reports in Germany suggest that United maestro Casemiro is a target for Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich, with the head coach looking for a commanding presence in midfield.

According to Football Insider, Manchester City are weighing up a move for Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney, who has struggled for minutes this season.

The same source report that Aston Villa are looking to bring Ivan Toney to the club but Brentford are reluctant to sell their talisman.

Napoli could clinch a first Scudetto in 33 years this weekend if they beat Salernitana and Lazio drop points against Inter Milan. 

Luciano Spalletti’s outfit can keep up their side of the bargain by winning on Saturday but will have to wait until Sunday to find out if Inter are able to secure a result at the San Siro. 

Elsewhere, the race for Europe could not be tighter as Italy’s big guns battle it out for continental qualification. 

Roma and AC Milan go head-to-head with only goals scored separating the top-four hopefuls, while Atalanta travel to Torino and Juventus face Bologna.

Game of the week: Napoli vs Salernitana (Saturday, 2pm)

A seismic Campanian derby is on the cards at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as Napoli target a win that could make them Serie A champions.

But they should be wary of draw specialists Salernitana — no team in the division has tied more games than their 12 this term. 

Remarkably, six of those draws came in succession before last Saturday when Paulo Sousa’s outfit beat Sassuolo 3-0. 

However, Salernitana’s leaky defence will be music to the ears of Napoli’s attacking stars, with only Cremonese (57) and Sampdoria (52) conceding more than the Granata’s 50 goals against. 

Inter Milan vs Lazio (Sunday, 11.30am)

Inter ended a woeful run of league results with victory over Empoli last time out — but should face a far tougher test against high-flying Lazio. 

The Biancocelesti will be reeling from a surprise 1-0 loss to Torino on Matchday 31, which put the brakes on a hot streak of four consecutive Serie A wins. 

Maurizio Sarri’s men remain in pole position to secure Champions League football, though, with a five-point cushion over fifth-place Roma. 

Things are looking far less comfortable for Nerazzurri in sixth, making it imperative that they pick up a result on Sunday.

Roma vs AC Milan (Saturday, 5pm)

Roma’s clash with AC Milan promises to be a fascinating match-up as both teams bid to edge ahead of their opponents in the table. 

The sides are tied on 56 points in fifth and sixth place with identical +14 goal difference records. 

Even their previous Serie A encounter ended in a 2-2 draw as late strikes from Roma’s Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham ensured the points were shared at the San Siro. 

Rafael Leao will be hoping to continue his top form in Italy having scored a brace in two of his last four outings.

Bologna vs Juventus (Sunday, 7.45pm)

Juventus are back in the top four after their 15-point deduction was overturned last week — but their form will be a worry for Bianconeri supporters. 

Max Allegri’s unit have lost three league matches on the bounce against Lazio (2-1), Sassuolo (1-0) and Napoli (1-0). 

That run did include two tough fixtures, though, while Juve had won seven of their previous eight Serie A games. 

The visitors will hope for a repeat of their previous meeting with the Rossoblu when they romped to a convincing 3-0 victory at the Allianz Stadium.

Torino vs Atalanta (Saturday, 7.45pm)

Atalanta have not won more than two league matches in succession since September as inconsistency continues to hinder their Champions League charge. 

But La Dea did pick up their third victory in five games on Matchday 31, beating Roma 3-1 in impressive fashion. 

Teun Koopmeiners got on the scoresheet in that encounter and will surely fancy his chances of doing so again in Turin. 

The Dutch midfielder netted a hat-trick in Atalanta’s 3-1 victory over Torino back in September, with two of those strikes coming from the penalty spot.

The weekend’s other games

Lecce vs Udinese (Friday, 5.30pm) 

Spezia vs Monza (Friday, 7.45pm) 

Sassuolo vs Empoli (Sunday, 2pm) 

Cremonese vs Verona (Sunday, 2pm) 

Fiorentina vs Sampdoria (Sunday, 5pm)

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Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will “take what we get” at the end of the season as they eye a fourth Premier League win in a row against Tottenham on Sunday.

The Reds are in seventh place after continuing their recent resurgence with a 2-1 victory at West Ham on Tuesday.

Liverpool are seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and will move above Spurs if they beat them at Anfield this weekend.

Reds manager Klopp expects his players to throw everything into a late-season push for a place in either the Champions League or Europa League.

He said: “We will take what we get. We didn’t start the season saying it will be fantastic, but the season taught us a few things. If it is Europa League, it is Europa League.

“We want to create a basis to qualify for the best possible scenario. Squeeze everything out.”

Klopp has been encouraged by the Reds’ return to form but is demanding more.

The German said: “It’s too early to speak about consistency winning three in a row. I am happy with the performances at the moment as I saw a lot of things we want to see in games, and that’s really pleasing for the coach.

“I know from the outside results are everything, but performances levels are what you are looking for. We want to focus on us, but we cannot ignore the quality of the opponent.

“There is always something to improve on. I am absolutely okay with us at the moment, but we have to stay focused and show the most important prize in football is three points.”

Centre-back Ibrahima Konate is available to return from injury when Spurs travel to Merseyside on the back of fighting back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United on Thursday.

Tottenham were hammered 6-1 at Newcastle United last weekend, resulting in interim boss Cristian Stellini being sacked and Ryan Mason taking charge until the end of the season.

Klopp is wary of the threat posed by the London club despite the fact they have endured a turbulent time.

He added: “This is a season where a lot of things are difficult for a lot of teams. We have our problems, Chelsea have problems, Tottenham have problems. It is not cool for us but opens it up for other teams and Champions League spots are there to grab for other teams.

“Little mistakes can cause massive problems. I don’t know anything about that for Tottenham, but they showed they are outstanding last night. I will be prepared for the best possible Tottenham side. They have been the best counter-attacking side in Europe by some distance.”