Jurgen Klopp wants Liverpool to be ‘the one team no one wants to play’ against ahead of the club’s Champions League quarter-final with Benfica.
Liverpool face the Portuguese side at Anfield tomorrow evening looking to secure their place in the semi-finals, with the Reds 3-1 ahead on aggregate following the first meeting in Lisbon.
Klopp’s side head into the clash after an enthralling 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday and face the same opponents in a huge FA Cup semi-final showdown at Wembley this weekend.
The German insists this weekend’s fixture with City will have ‘no influence’ on his team selection against Benfica however, and says the club’s focus is on securing progress to the Champions League’s last four.
“The next game has no influence on the line up for tomorrow but the last game has so we have to see,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
“Super intense schedule. There is nobody injured as far as I know but we need to look at who is fresh enough for this game.
“We see it as a super important game to us. We tried to so hard last year to qualify for the Champions League and now we can make it to semis which is incredible.”
Klopp discussed his side’s performance during their win in Portugal last week and says he was pleased with Liverpool’s display in securing a first leg advantage.
The Reds’ boss also spoke on the threat Benfica pose and outlined his intention for Liverpool to be a team that no side wants to face this season.
“We were good in Benfica, I liked the game,” Klopp added.
“The main target is again being the one team no one wants to play. Really aggressive in a football sense, defending well, knowing more about the way they play.
“They wanted to isolate in moments Darwin (Nunez) a little bit with Konate.
“There is a lot to do, speed with Rafa Silva. There’s so many things we knew before but you see it on the pitch it’s really impressive.
“At half-time you know more about the opponent, adjust and go again.”
