MY ACCOUNT
Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool stars to “squeeze everything” they can out of this season as they head into a rematch with the Wolves team who left them at their lowest ebb.
A 3-0 thumping at Molineux on February 4 followed a month that contained two defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and a loss at Brentford, with Liverpool leaving the West Midlands in a state of disarray.
Results have picked up since from that low point, with Liverpool beating Everton and Newcastle United in the Premier League and drawing at Crystal Palace. They have kept three successive clean sheets for the first time in the domestic league, but the elephant in the room is the 5-2 stuffing Liverpool suffered at the hands of Real Madrid amid that improvement.
As it stands, Liverpool are up to seventh in the league, still in the hunt for a Champions League place with 45 points up for grabs before the season ends, and manager Klopp says this is “a super-important week”.
With Wolves their visitors on Wednesday, and Manchester United coming to Anfield on Sunday, the chance is there for Liverpool to take big strides towards the top four.
Considering Liverpool came from mid-table to snatch fourth in the 2020-21 season, after winning eight of their last 10 games, Klopp knows it can be done.
“It helps because it was us and I don’t have to tell them the story from another team,” Klopp said on Tuesday. “History is not allowed to hinder you, but you cannot constantly rely on doing it again, so we have to make sure.
“I really see we have the right mindset, and we are ready to go, but now we have to do it as well because a game is different. You have an opponent who wants the points as well. We have to create, we have to attack, we have to defend, we have to protect. I know the boys can do that, so let’s give it a try.
“We have to force it as well, but we have to play and enjoy what we are doing, that’s really important. I really think we are ready. If there’s a club that can do it, I really think it’s us, because all the things we’ve achieved, we’ve achieved together.
“We have a future together. The immediate future, but there’s a bigger picture as well. We will strike back in general, but now we have to make sure we really squeeze everything out of this season that we can squeeze out of this season.
“I don’t know in this moment what it will be, but the obvious spots are not too far away from us, and we will see which one we can pick up, but there’s no alternative to results, so we need results and for results we need performances.”
Liverpool have won 18 of their last 20 home league games against Wolves, with the exceptions being 1-0 defeats in January 1984 and December 2010.
Klopp’s Reds also beat Wolves after a replay in the FA Cup in January, so victory over the men in black and gold is not an alien concept, despite the recent woeful league result. Klopp labelled that 3-0 loss as “not a cool day” and urged Liverpool to take advantage of being at home this time.
Wolves will be looking to complete a league double over Liverpool for the first time since the 1950-51 season, and they need the points too, given they hover just above the relegation zone.
“It’s a super-important week,” Klopp said. “We can’t ignore that and why would I? We have two home games.
“I would love to give the season a little push this week. I know we all understand, so we have to give a proper, proper, proper go against a team we played more often than any other team this season.
“We know a lot about each other. We know it will not be easy, so we have to make sure we are ready. I know Anfield will be, and we have to do our part.”
