Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside derby: “They are special…but it’s a football game”

by George Martin

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes “previous form matters” as his side prepares to take on neighbours Everton in the 239^th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park tomorrow.

The Reds head into the match after winning their last two Premier League matches 4-0.

They are third in the league table while Everton have slipped to 14th after only picking up two points from their last seven Premier League matches.

The match will also be the first time Rafael Benitez will face his former club in Liverpool since joining local rivals Everton.

Directly on the Merseyside derby, Klopp said at today’s media conference: “We all know there is some special things around derbies.

“It’s a football game and that is exactly how we want to approach it.”

Preparation

Liverpool beat Southampton on Saturday, while Everton lost to Brentford on Sunday.

The German believes the extra day of recovery and preparation could help his side.

“When we have one day less, we feel that,” he added.

“It is difficult to train properly and then you play again.

“It is a massive difference, so we will see.”

Mohamed Salah

Yesterday, Lionel Messi won his seventh Ballon D’or with Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mo Salah voted the seventh-best player in the world for 2021.

Reacting to the vote, Klopp said: “I was surprised with his position to be honest.

“It’s not in my hands, so I don’t know.

“Mo should definitely have been higher up.”

Last Season

Last season, the derby at Goodison will be remembered for tackles which wrecked the seasons of Virgil Van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara.

“For football, you need a cool head,” Klopp said.

“We are still an emotional team, but we have to use the emotion in the right way.

“That is the plan for tomorrow, absolutely.”

On the injury suffered by Van Dijk, he added: “It was a situation that should not happen in football and doesn’t happen very often.

“Virgil is very experienced.

“His comeback was absolutely brilliant.”

Injury update

The Liverpool manager does not expect any new injury issues ahead of tomorrow’s match.

“Everybody came through well, as far as I know.

“All the (injured) boys are getting closer

“Joe (Gomez) is not too far away from team training, Naby (Keita) is not too far.

“Bobby (Firmino) probably needs another week.

“With Curtis (Jones), it is not in our hands, we just have to wait until we are given the green light.”

The Merseyside Derby will take place on Wednesday December 1 at 8.15pm and will be live on Amazon Prime.