Liverpool face more scrutiny because of Manchester United and Manchester City's good starts, says Jurgen Klopp

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free

Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Jürgen Klopp has suggested that the impressive starts made by both Manchester clubs have increased the scrutiny on his Liverpool side at the start of the new season.

After being eliminated from the EFL Cup at Leicester City on Tuesday night, Liverpool re-visit the King Power Stadium on Saturday looking to end a four-game winless run.

Tuesday’s defeat and the 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City, plus the frustrating home draws against Sevilla and Burnley, have led to questions being asked of Klopp’s side.

Having managed at Borussia Dortmund, Klopp is used to the pressures of coaching at a top club but he admits that the Anfield helm comes with “a little bit more”, particularly when rivals at the other end of the East Lancs Road are playing well.

“Everywhere [is] the same but here a little bit more, of course,” he said. “Especially when the Manchester teams are flying, that makes it even more difficult but I cannot change this.

“What I can do is cool the situation here down and do the right things again and work on the other things. That is how it is always.”

While Liverpool have enjoyed long spells of dominance in each of their last three games against Sevilla, Burnley and Leicester, making 80 attempts on goal in total, they have been unable to take advantage of such supremacy and scored only three goals.

Their opponents, meanwhile, have made a combined total of 19 shots and scored five. Klopp has issues to address at both the front and the back of his team,

“It sounds like we have nil points and we are the worst team in the league,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“Yes, we obviously have problems. That’s why we only have eight points and not 15. That’s the situation. We can make it more serious than it is, or we can take it like it is. Yes, we still have work to do. That would be the same if we had 15 points.”

Liverpool’s defensive problems may only deteriorate on their return to Leicester, with both of Klopp’s first-choice central defenders a doubt through injury.

Dejan Lovren, who has missed three of his side’s last four games, has not trained this week and could sit out at the King Power Stadium with a back problem suffered on international duty with Croatia.

Klopp also revealed that Joel Matip, Lovren’s defensive partner, and midfielder Emre Can, who has deputised at centre-half in the past, are both doubts for Saturday.

“[Matip and Can] have also got little bits from the last game, so we have to see,” he said. “Hopefully they will be back in training today or tomorow. We have to wait.”

Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez, who played in the centre of Liverpool’s defence during Tuesday’s defeat, are likely to retain their positions if Lovren and Matip are ruled out.