Our own history
is that stopping him does not necessarily stop the onslaught with 15 goals in this competition coming from the other two prongs of Liverpool’s attacking trident, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
At the back Liverpool have also looked a different proposition since Virgil van Dijk arrived in January with both Dejan Lovren and Loris Karius looking far more comfortable alongside him.
And in Anfield they have a rarely-breached fortress with only Sevilla able to score two against them in an unbeaten Champions League home campaign that has produced 15 goals for and just those two against. Their ability to land flurries of punches has seen teams suddenly lose their equilibrium against Liverpool this season and Klopp will stress the importance of momentum to his side.
“The team is enthusiastic. In a good moment, they jump and that’s good to see,” he said. “But against Manchester City we dealt with some difficult circumstances in the two halves here and there on a high level.”
Roma will present a strong physical challenge from front to back with a five-man midfield and powerful wingbacks, but it is one Liverpool are ready for, according to captain Jordan Henderson. “I still see us as going into this game as the underdog and it will be a huge challenge,” he said. “But we can still be better and tomorrow we need the perfect performance if we are going to get the result.
“We all know the history of the club and how brilliant it is. But we want people to be looking back at this team in 20 or 30 years’ time and saying how good we were and how special this year was or the next few years will be.
“I feel as though we are in a great place but also that this is just the start of something special.
“This is the first of some huge games and hopefully we can have many more over the next few years.” ALISSON FAZIO MANOLAS JESUS FLORENZI STROOTMAN DE ROSSI NAINGGOLAN KOLAROV SCHICK DZEKO