Liverpool not thinking about ‘Invincibles’ repeat, says coach Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has brushed aside comparisons to Arsenal’s famous ‘Invincibles’ squad and urged his players to focus solely on Saturday’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur.

Victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will take Liverpool’s points tally to 61 from 21 matches, 12 points more than Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal at the same stage in 2003-04 when they completed an entire season unbeaten.

Liverpool are also unbeaten so far this season and 13 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, but Klopp said he will not allow his players to get distracted by the prospect of setting new benchmarks. They will reach 110 points if they match their points average for the first 20 games in the final 18, which would obliterate City’s record of 100 points set in 2017-18.

“The only thing I can say is if we thought about any kind of record, we would not have won the number of games we have won so far. That’s it,” Klopp told a news conference on Friday.

“I think in sport - and you probably have to ask other teams who have done it before - they have never set a record because they wanted to set a record. It just happened because of being focused on each step we make and that is what we have to do. My problem at this moment is Tottenham, the way they play, the way we think they will play and all that stuff. That’s the only thing I am concerned about, nothing else.”

Klopp confirmed playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri is fit and available for selection this weekend but ruled out injured midfielders James Milner and Naby Keita.

Meanwhile, Dejan Lovren and Fabinho are expected to resume full training next week.

Top-four battle heats up If Liverpool, Leicester and Manchester City maintain their present pace, only one place will be left for the rest of the Champions League hopefuls to fight over.

Fourth-placed Chelsea hold the advantage at present, but their five-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United looks far from impregnable.

Tottenham, six points behind Chelsea, are in the hunt, while Arsenal, down in 10th but revitalised by new boss Mikel Arteta, still harbour faint hopes of a surge in the second half of the season.

Rocked by the limp manner of their 3-1 defeat against Manchester City in the League Cup semi-final first leg, spluttering United face a must-win clash with rock bottom Norwich at Old Trafford.

Chelsea host Burnley, seeking to prove they can finally replicate their impressive away form, which includes wins at Tottenham and Arsenal, in front of Stamford Bridge fans who have witnessed shock defeats against Bournemouth, West Ham and Southampton this season.

Tottenham have the toughest task of the contenders when they face Liverpool in north London, with leading scorer Harry Kane sidelined until April due to a hamstring injury and Jose Mourinho’s team on a frustrating run of one win in their past five games in all competitions.

The Hornets were left for dead before the arrival of former Leicester boss Pearson but, with combative forward Troy Deeney back to his best, now they are only two points from safety, with a crunch clash at third-bottom Bournemouth looming on Saturday.

Southampton had spent time in the bottom three with Watford.

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said he would get “depressed” if he wallowed in the news that Harry Kane is to be missing for at least three months.

Agencies

English Premier League fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)

On Saturday: Crystal Palace vs Arsenal (1230), Chelsea vs Burnley, Everton vs Brighton, Leicester vs Southampton, Manchester United vs Norwich, Wolves vs Newcastle, Tottenham vs Liverpool (1730)

On Sunday: Bournemouth vs Watford (1400), Aston Villa vs Manchester City (1630)