THERE has been so much said about European nights at Anfi eld – images of St Etienne, Olympiakos and, most recently, Borussia Dortmund fl ashed around the world – that the idea Villarreal will be caught on the hop tonight feels outlandish.

Yet it is as much what the deafening din does for Liverpool, as their opponents, that is underpinning Jurgen Klopp’s confi dence.

Liverpool must overturn a 1- 0 defi cit, inexplicably handed to their rivals at the death last week, if they are to progress into a 12th European fi nal. No one is contemplating failure.

“I do not know what they know about Anfi eld,” said Klopp. “They scored in the last minute of the game and if you don’t celebrate then there’s something wrong. It’s more about when my colleague [ Villarreal coach Marcelino] said after the game that 1- 0 was the result he dreamed of.

“If we can create with our game a similar atmosphere as Dortmund, then it will be much more diffi cult for Villarreal than they imagine in this moment.

“I don’t think we are through, I don’t think we are halfway or something, but I don’t think either that we are out of the tournament. It is not that I always expect from now on in diffi cult games, in close games, wonders from us and the crowd. But I think we all felt together how big the infl uence is of an outstanding atmosphere.

“How I understand football is to forget everything that went before and not to think about afterwards. Just focus on the match and do whatever you can. Fight for your life if you want.”

Much of Klopp’s work since he took over back in October has been focused on making sure that is both a threat and a promise but his players will only prevail this evening if handed the right blueprint. That battle plan will be fi ne- tuned at a training session this morning at Melwood when Emre Can will discover whether his timely return to fi tness is rewarded with a starting role, and Daniel Sturridge fi nds out if he will be asked to be the difference from the start of a high- profi le match again. If Klopp has proved himself as someone who applies a glass- halffull kind of attitude to life, then the exception to the rule appears to be Sturridge. Where the striker is concerned, the manager’s outlook becomes blurred not by what he does on a football pitch – wreak havoc in the opposition penalty area – but what he is presumed not to