Jurgen Klopp has insisted his Liverpool side will be ready to pounce and snatch a top four finish if Manchester United do not make the most of the two games in hand they have on his side.
The Anfield outfit currently find themselves in fifth place in the Premier League – one point behind Erik Ten Hag’s side who are currently trailing 1-0 against West Ham at the London Stadium (at the time of writing).
That would mean Klopp’s men are right in with a shout to sneak into the Champions League spots heading into the final three games after picking up their sixth successive victory against Brentford yesterday.
“Of course, that’s always the (case). Imagine if they would. But I don’t think they will,” Klopp told Sky Sports (as quoted by Birmingham Live) when asked if his side are ready to take advantage if United drop more points.
“Imagine if they would and we wouldn’t be there, then we would really regret that. Apart from that, if Man United wins their two games in hand, then they are seven points away and it’s pretty much done.”
Klopp was also keen to stress that it’s not only the Red Devils that his side need to worry about.
There are plenty of sides below the Merseysiders that have their own aspirations of securing European football at the moment – most notably Brighton who are seven points behind Liverpool but with three games in hand.
“People forget about Brighton. If they win their games in hand – and when you see them playing, then it’s absolutely possible – they are above us. It’s just an interesting period,” Klopp added. “It’s a bit more exciting than a few teams wanted for us. It’s good that we can get in that region of the table again.
“But we have to make sure we keep the teams behind us, behind us! They are coming as well. Not only Brighton, but Aston Villa and Tottenham, who won (against Crystal Palace). Nothing is decided for us, which is good. We have three games to go.”
We need to continue focussing on ourselves at the moment with three huge games remaining.
We travel to Leicester next Monday before welcoming Aston Villa to Anfield and then travelling to relegation-threatened Southampton on the final day.
Picking up maximum points is of course the aim and then it’s down to United and/or Newcastle to slip up.
Winning six games in a row has ensured we remain in with a shout for a top four finish and this is a position you wouldn’t have expected us to be in a month ago.
That’s credit to Klopp and his players and let’s hope we can give it one final push in the coming weeks to salvage some sort of success out of this campaign.