Jürgen reveals secret to his big-game record
Jürgen Klopp has revealed the key to his impressive record against the Premier League's big hitters: hard work.
Since arriving in England in October 2015, the Liverpool boss has suffered just one defeat in 22 meetings with the other teams who comprised last season's top seven - a 1-0 reverse at the hands of Manchester United back in January of last year.
The German will hope to extend his good run in heavyweight contests when the Reds face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday's early kick-off.
But, when asked for the secret to his propensity for picking good results in these sorts of fixtures, Klopp denied that there is, in fact, any great secret at all.
He told reporters: “What's the secret? Working hard, probably - that's kind of the plan against them. [And] having luck in the right moment, a few things.
“But always [you need] pretty much a 100 per cent performance. If you show weaknesses in a game like this, these teams will use them, for sure.
“It's clear you have to be ready for the different situations in the game and against City it is probably the most intense game to play.
“Without the perfect attitude, without the maximum readiness to really work, we have no chance. They play too much football in interesting spaces for you to have a chance. You have to hope that they don’t score!
“It's not too easy to prepare this time for City because they have already played different systems, that's what Pep's always doing.
“They're not too different but, in this moment, they play with three or four at the back, or four or five, whatever you want. That changed a little bit the formation, also for the midfield players and where they play.
“But they have the same problem that we have, they have one real session to prepare the game against us, that's a real challenge.
“We have the session today to try our best to be prepared because the players come from all over the world and played completely different systems, had different roles in their team, and that makes it a real challenge.”
Free: Watch Jürgen Klopp's pre-Man City press conference in full
Despite his past exploits, Klopp remains wary of the threat posed by a Man City squad that boasts several world-class talents.
But he wants his players to showcase their own quality during what he expects to be an 'interesting' fixture.
He added: “Most of the time, I only watch my side, so I cannot say a lot about the other side in a game because I'm not too interested.
“But it happens sometimes that the other team performs really well and it's easy to remember.
“Part of the game is, of course, to not let them not do what they want to do, especially against a Man City side that is outstanding strong.
“On the other hand, we all know we can play football and that's what we want to do.
“It's not a game that City face a lot of times, I think. We have to defend deep because they are strong in different moments and they can force you to do that, so we should be smart enough to do it then.
“But it will not happen all the time, we also can be strong in possession and have to do this in the same way.
“Both teams are strong in counter-attacks so that means both teams [must be] really careful with losing balls in specific situations. That's a really interesting game and I really enjoy the preparation.
“I would have enjoyed it much more if we could have had two, three, four sessions to prepare but, now it’s one, it makes it even more special.”