Jurgen Klopp on facing Jose Mourinho again ahead of Tottenham vs Liverpool

Victory at Spurs would represent the best start of any team in the history of Europe's top five leagues, but Klopp batted away talk of records ahead of an unpredictable challenge

Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp (Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp admitted he cannot predict what approach Jose Mourinho will employ as Tottenham host Liverpool on Saturday with the intention of ending their unbeaten run.

The league leaders travel to north London having collected 58 points out of a possible 60, with Manchester United the only side to deny them victory in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in October.

A victory at Spurs would represent the best start to a campaign of any team in the history of Europe's top five leagues - a haul of 61 from 21 matches - but Klopp batted away talk of records ahead of what he believes will be a daunting challenge.

“We didn’t think a second about it, and we will not start thinking about it now,” he said. "If we would have started thinking about any kind of record, we would not have won the number of games we won so far.

“My problem in this moment is Tottenham, the way they play, the way we think they will play, the way they will play. That is all I am concerned about. Nothing else.”

Part of the complexity of Saturday’s encounter for Klopp is being unsure of what system and strategy Mourinho will employ.

He has enjoyed assuming the role of spoiler in previous fixtures against Liverpool, but given Tottenham’s attacking talents, there is potential for a more offensive stance.

“Very good organisation,” was Klopp’s response to what he expects from Spurs. “Putting some emphasis on defending for sure, having counter attacks, but the team is too good technically to just do that.

“If they play [Christian] Eriksen, [Dele] Alli, [Giovanni] Lo Celso, they have a lot of players in midfield that can create situations. They have speed with [Lucas] Moura and [Heung-min] Son.

“They played a lot of times with five in the back, I’m not sure if they will do that again, but if they do then they have [Ryan] Sessegnon and [Serge] Aurier then on the wings with speed.

“It’s a home game for Tottenham and they usually try to create and try to dominate the game, I’m not sure if anybody wants to see that in the moment. I think all of them go for the result. We cannot be sure 100 per cent what they will do but we have signs obviously.

“We have to think about what he [Mourinho] did against us with Manchester United, but they are different games, a different opponent. We have to analyse, and our analysis usually ends quite a way from the truth because we don’t know 100 per cent.

“It’s the same for us. We want to be unpredictable so we have to be unpredictable, make things that they cannot prepare for. That’s what we try.”

The extra layer of apprehension around Saturday is owed to Mourinho’s history in slicing down sides that have been a magnet for praise.

“He’s a world class manager with a specific mindset I would say,” Klopp noted. “He wants to win with all he has. I respect that a lot. That means each situation his team is in, he tries to use for his team.

“So if it was Tottenham in our situation and we were going there, he would try to use that. Now it’s the other way round so he tries to use that. That’s how managers work.

Mourinho and Klopp will meet again on Saturday evening (Getty Images)

“I don’t want to create headlines, but I don’t remember that we played a game in the last two or three years that I thought ‘thank God it’s him as manager and not somebody else’. It’s tough against all of them for different reasons.

“I’m not sure if he was a better footballer than I was, but the good news is that the managers don’t play. We send out teams full of experience and desire to change or continue the situation.

“Are Tottenham my preferred opponent this weekend, no? But I don’t think many teams want to play against us at the moment.”

Xherdan Shaqiri has been in full training this week and could return to contention for Liverpool. Joel Matip is close to a return as is Dejan Lovren and Fabinho, but James Milner and Naby Keita are ruled out.

“James and Naby are not available, both are muscle injuries and we will see how quick it will be,” Klopp said. “We don’t have to put a timeframe on it. We will see, but for sure not this weekend or next week.

“Joel was not part of all parts of training, he was outside on the pitch and looked really good but then he had to do his own stuff again. Shaq trained completely normal. Dejan and Fabinho we expect to be back next week in full training, and if that is early enough for the United game I don’t know, we will see.

“They worked really hard and that’s good.”