The prospect of taking a team to Anfield to face Liverpool would hold plenty of fear for most managers, but one man who’ll soon have that task can’t wait for it to come around.
Norwich’s win over Bristol Rovers in their FA Cup replay on Wednesday night has earned them a trip to Merseyside in round four of the competition on 28 January, a fixture which’ll put Jurgen Klopp up against his good friend David Wagner, who was the best man at the 56-year-old’s wedding in 2005.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle last night, the Canaries manager said (via The Football League Paper): “I haven’t checked my messages yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jurgen has already been in touch now we’re through.
“I haven’t seen Jurgen in person since his birthday party last year so it will be great to have a bit of reunion with him, but it’s not about us. Above all it’s all about making sure my team go to Anfield and do Norwich City proud.
“A tie at Anfield is a really big prize for my team and I know my players will relish the opportunity to take on the Premier League’s best players, but it’s not something that should hold any fear for my players and I will be telling them that we will go for it.”
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It won’t be the first time that Wagner and Klopp have pitted their wits against each other, with the 52-year-old having faced Liverpool on three occasions during his time in charge of Huddersfield when they were in the Premier League between 2017 and 2019.
The Terriers lost each of those games, and the current Norwich boss will need to pull off a shock result if he’s to finally get one over on his good pal on Sunday week, but he can send his team out with a lot more to gain than to lose at Anfield that day.
The Canaries actually took the lead away to the Reds during a top-flight fixture two years ago before the home side fought back to win 3-1, so the Carrow Road outfit have previous when it comes to giving Klopp’s team a fright.
The enduring friendship between him and Wagner will be put to one side for a couple of hours on 28 January, but once the final whistle blows we can expect the two to salute each other warmly – hopefully after another Liverpool win!
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