MANCHESTER -- Jose Mourinho has claimed he is calmer than Jurgen Klopp ahead of Manchester United's Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
United host Liverpool in the 198th competitive meeting between English football's historical superpowers having won nine successive games in all competitions.
Liverpool, who sit five points clear of United in second position, are on a run of three games without a win and two without a goal as they prepare to travel to Old Trafford. And Mourinho admits that, having drawn 0-0 at Anfield in October, he goes into Sunday's clash in a calmer mood than Liverpool counterpart Klopp.
"I like to win, like every manager likes to win," Mourinho told a news conference. "Everyone has his own personality and style of coaching and leading, but we [Mourinho and Klopp] probably have similar qualities.
"I am sure we have different qualities as people and managers, but he wants to play as much as I want to play and he will be as motivated as I am.
"I am not sure if he is as calm as I am, though, but this is just one more big game in our careers."
A United will move them to within two points of Liverpool, with Klopp knowing that a victory will open an eight-point gap between his side and Mourinho's men and almost certainly end their faint title hopes. But despite the stakes, Mourinho insists that the game is worth no more than three points, regardless of the emotion involved.
"It is about three points, plus the emotional side of it," Mourinho said. "The emotional side of it, the fans, players in club for a long time, I think they understand the feeling better than I do.
"But I have been here a few months and I understand the dimension of the feeling of the rivalry -- a good rivalry -- and it is a very good thing for club. It is three points and no more than that, though.
"But for us, results are better than last time [Anfield game in October] and that changes a lot of things. At that time, I had less time to work, now I have more and know them better.
"We have a better way of playing, better performances, better results and we play this game at home, so it's little details that change a bit."
Mourinho, meanwhile, confirmed that both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo are likely to overcome illness and injury respectively to be in the United squad.
"I think Zlatan and Rojo will play," he said. "The game is still 48 hours away, but they are closer to being ready than not."