The curtain on 2022 falls with the former Scousers boss's visit to Anfield
Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 30.12.22. | 14:40
Liverpool meet Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City in one of the ultimate Premier League games of the year
Jurgen Klopp's predecessor in Liverpool dugout, Brendan Rodgers, makes his latest return to Anfield on Friday night on the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Newcastle.
"I expect a tough game and I expect a reaction," Klopp says of Leicester. "They changed the system during the game (against Newcastle), which makes it now a little bit tricky to prepare for a specific system. They played with five in the back, they played 4-2-3-1, in this game now changed to a diamond, which looked, I think, more stable at that moment. Will Brendan decide to do that again? I don't know."
Asked about his thoughts on 2022, the German gaffer is more than straightforward.
"I think it was tough every year, to be honest," says Klopp, before adding: "We did it quite early for three of the last four years. Credit to us if you want because it was always tricky but, of course, we all knew that Newcastle would be a massive contender from now on and it's clear with Man United, Arsenal playing an exceptional season, all respect for that, City is City so all of a sudden you have four teams occupying, Tottenham fighting hard, Chelsea still there.
"We are back to a top six or top seven, if you like, and only four can make it to the Champions League. We know that, we know that absolutely. The quality of the opponents is obviously clear, but most of the things we can still sort ourselves.
"If they win all the time, we cannot get closer, but we meet some of them and, for us, we are under pressure like other teams are under pressure because it's not the nicest thing to have us three or five points behind you. That doesn't give you any kind of security but we better play a special second half of the season to have a chance to make it to the Champions League, which is obviously our target."
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - ROUND 18
Friday
22.45: (2.05) West Ham (3.50) Brentford (3.90)
23.00: (1.28) Liverpool (6.50) Leicester (11.0)
Saturday
15.30: (4.40) Wolverhampton (3.50) Man.Utd. (1.95)
18.00: (1.15) Man.City (10.0) Everton (18.0)
18.00: (1.50) Newcastle (4.50) Leeds (7.25)
18.00: (2.00) Fulham (3.45) Southampton (3.80)
18.00: (3.10) Bournemouth (3.10) Crystal Palace (2.60)
20.30: (3.60) Brighton (3.50) Arsenal (2.15)
Sunday
17.00: (1.70) Tottenham (3.70) Aston Villa (5.20)
19.30: (6.00) Nott.Forest (3.80) Chelsea (1.67)
***odds are subject to change
