Reds backed to handle pressure

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is confident his players can handle “the most intense period of their lives” to keep their Champions League and Premier League title ambitions on track.

The club are currently in the middle of a run of eight matches in 26 days in December.

Klopp’s side, top of the table domestically, need a point against Red Bull Salzburg in Austria to progress to the knockout stages in Europe tonight but anything less will likely mean an unthinkable drop into the Europa League for the defending champions.

Also looming on the horizon is a week-long trip to Doha for the Club World Cup, which also comes in the same week as a Carabao Cup quarter-final at Aston Villa for which Klopp has had to assign to the youth team.

Asked whether his players could handle the physical demands he said: “No I don’t expect drops (in fitness and intensity) and if they happen I will prepare the solution then.

“Yes it is difficult but there is a job to do. We don’t ask for excuses, we know our schedule. We know where we have to go.

“We are a group which is in the most intense period of our lives and we will try to enjoy it.

“It is difficult, no doubt about that, but that is nothing that can stop us.”

In Group H, Chelsea must beat Lille at home to ensure safe passage to the knockout stages.

Frank Lampard admitted recent sticky form had handed him his first big challenge as Blues boss but wants his players to embrace the pressure.

“Teams need this test,” said Lampard. “Big games like this, they are crucial for the players. You can be defined as an individual and a group by success.”