LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 28, 2016: Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp during the Football League Cup Final match against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Jurgen Klopp shuns Wembley record, with sights set solely on Spurs

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he has no fear of Wembley despite suffering only heartbreak on his two competitive visits there.

As Borussia Dortmund boss the German lost the 2013 Champions League final to arch-rivals Bayern Munich following a late Arjen Robben winner and—three years later—Man City‘s penalty shoot-out win denied him his first trophy just four months after taking over at Anfield.

Liverpool’s recent record at the ground, Tottenham‘s temporary home while White Hart Lane is being redeveloped, is not great either as they have not won a competitive game there since the 2012 all-Merseyside FA Cup semi-final.

They went on to lose the final to Chelsea and then were shocked by Aston Villa in another semi-final three years later.

Klopp, who has tasted a Wembley victory with Liverpool when they beat Barcelona 4-0 in a pre-season friendly there last year, insists the bricks and mortar of the national stadium are irrelevant to him.

“I never played against Tottenham at Wembley so maybe that’s another thing,” said the Reds boss, who has recorded three draws and a win in the Premier League against Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

“I can say that the performance was always really good. In the Champions League final the performance was really good, everybody who saw it knows that.

“The League Cup final against City was unlucky in the penalty shootout at the end, that’s how things can happen.

“But we don’t feel bad when we see Wembley, it’s a good place and a wonderful stadium.

“And we never played against Tottenham there, so it’s nothing we are thinking about. We only think about the game against Tottenham and not where we play.”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 19, 2017: Liverpool's James Milner during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Klopp has some decisions to make over his team selection after the thumping 7-0 Champions League win over Maribor in midweek.

He has already decided captain Jordan Henderson will return after being rested in Slovenia, which will most likely mean James Milner misses out.

That would be harsh on the 31-year-old midfielder who—despite just nine appearances this season, only three of which were starts—impressed against Maribor.

“Of course [he will want to play] but no problem. I was never in doubt about Milly,” added Klopp.

“Yes, I am really happy for him that he performed that well, like all the others, thank God.

“But that’s the situation we wanted to have, that’s the situation that we need to have – that we have more of the highest quality players than 11.

“We’ve played now without Nathaniel Clyne, without Sadio Mane, without Adam Lallana and the best thing is that we still have more players than we can use from the first whistle.

“I respect Milly a lot, he is a very, very important player for us on the pitch and off the pitch. No problems with that, [it’s] good.”

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