Jurgen Klopp hailed Fulham as a “really good football-playing side” ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Craven Cottage on Sunday, warning his players they “have to be really spot on.”
The Reds can sharpen their focus on the Premier League following their 1-1 draw at Midtjylland in midweek, with at least 13 league games to come now before the Champions League last 16.
Heading into the weekend second in the table – level on points with leaders Tottenham who will visit Anfield on December 16 – Klopp and his side could be forgiven for having one eye on the upcoming title clash.
But speaking at his press conference on Friday, the manager insisted that the priority is Fulham, who he believes “will go for everything” due to their battle against relegation.
“I hope none of our players will think about Tottenham when we are in Fulham, to be honest,” he said.
“The situation is like it is at the top of the table everywhere, pretty much everywhere in the table, that there is not a lot of distance between.
“So we know that, I don’t have to tell the boys constantly.
“Fulham is a really good football-playing side, the performances they showed were not all rewarded with results, let me say it like this.
“But the fight for staying in the league is a tight one as well, so each point helps and they will go for everything.
“If we let them play, they will play; and the more we let them play, the more you have to defend; the more you have to defend, the more you have to run.
“So all these kinds of things, you have to be really spot in in this game.
“Since Scott Parker took over there it’s a constant development. Getting promoted from the most difficult ‘second league’ in the world is a tough one and he did that – as a pretty young coach, actually – so he’s doing a really good job and I respect that a lot.
“Now we go there, we have to see who is available and then we will try our best again.”
Klopp covered a lot in his press conference, including a positive update on the fitness of Alisson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – who could both be involved on Sunday – and concerns over Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota.
Meanwhile, Curtis Jones and Leighton Clarkson came in for further praise, and the manager elaborated on his changing views on VAR.
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