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Klopp’s Liverpool have not beaten a team in bottom three for TWO YEARS and now travel to Huddersfield ..who are managed by the man who knows him best
IT IS top v bottom, haves against most definitely have nots. Yet, for Jurgen Klopp, a visit to Huddersfield is an unswept minefield.
Not only will the Liverpool boss face the man who knows him best in football, he will also travel to Yorkshire knowing there is a remarkable statistic which suggests David Wagner’s team will be more formidable than everyone assumes. Since Klopp arrived at Anfield, his team has lost five of their nine away Premier League games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone – and have won none of their last six. You have to go back to his first season, in February 2016, for the last time they won against a bottom three team – a 6-0 victory at Aston Villa.
Klopp (with keeper Alisson, below) could not believe that stat. He shrugged as he considered it, then joked: “Can we put an embargo on these stats because we don’t want the boys reading these before we go to Huddersfield?”
It highlights perhaps the biggest challenge facing the German coach if his team are to be genuine contenders to lift the title.
They often outplay the top clubs, but frequently disappoint against lower Premier League opponents.
The Reds boss believes it is not a psychological problem, but merely a quirk of statistics.
When that impressive win at Villa was mentioned, he replied: “The last time, that was my first season? Let’s take it as an example shall we?
“I don’t know why it happens. I don’t feel anything with it, I wouldn’t have known about it if you hadn’t told me. “I remember the West Brom game last year which was a game that you win on nine of 10 occasions. That day we didn’t.
“And, I don’t know who we played last time? Swansea? They were good, they didn’t play like a bottom team that night. They were really good, in a really good moment.”
For Klopp, it simply sometimes happens. And he knows it could easily happen at Huddersfield, who he believes are far better than their lowly position at the bottom.
He said: “I use the word ‘trap’. If you look at the table and see one team 18th, on three points, you say it’s a clear situation. But it isn’t. I speak a lot to Dave – not this week, obviously – and I know the atmosphere in the club is still brilliant.
“Our analyst said, ‘They are much stronger than you would imagine’. I told my players they have to be ready for a really tough game.”
And Klopp said Terriers chief Wagner should not fear for his job – because no manager in the world could have matched the job he has done at Huddersfield – winning promotion to the top flight and keeping them there last term.
He added: “There’s no reason to be worried about Dave’s situation at Huddersfield.
“Getting promoted there, I use the words of a friend, is a miracle. Staying in the league is a miracle, and now this year if he stays in the league then he has a hat-trick of miracles.
“Liverpool could be managed by a lot of managers because they have a fantastic team and they are an outstanding club, but I don’t think any other manager in the world could do the job Dave has done at Huddersfield.
“At Huddersfield, they have a situation where they work together, they trust Dave rightly, 100 per cent, and that’s all.”