The Reds tackle the Bundesliga side in the second leg of a last-16 tie they lead 2-0 after goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in Hungary last month.
They will once again meet at Budapest’s Puskas Arena, and Klopp previewed the game at a press conference before making the journey from Merseyside.
The manager assessed the challenge posed by Leipzig, confirmed he will not be a candidate to take charge of the German national team this summer, and discussed Fabinho’s potential role tomorrow evening.
Read a summary below…
On his reaction to the news Joachim Löw will leave his position as German national team coach after the European Championships and whether he would consider the role…
Maybe you should ask the question differently, if that’s the question you want to ask: if I’m available for the job of the coach for the German national team in the summer? No. After the summer, no. Joachim Löw did an incredible job for so many years – I think he is the longest servant we’ve ever had in Germany, if I am right, and one of the most successful for sure. He did an incredible job and I understand he wants to have this highlight for him, a European Championship and tries to squeeze everything out that he can in this tournament and then somebody else will do the job. I am pretty sure with the amount of really good German managers in the moment the German FA will find a good solution.
On playing for a whole year without stadiums being full…
I said it 5,000 times, football would not be the game we love [without fans], that nobody would be interested in, nobody would want to watch it in a stadium. So yes, of course we missed them [very] much – and especially as Liverpool we missed them because we have the most special atmosphere probably in the world of football, so it’s clear it makes a massive difference. It’s no excuse for anything, we dealt for really long really well with it, playing without supporters, but in difficult times then that can be really helpful. I can’t wait for the day when people are allowed again to go to the stadium.
On the turnaround between the Fulham and Leipzig games…
All good, all good. Leipzig, I think, has a day more but that’s it – I think it was the same last time. That’s the situation. When we are in the situation we are in, we never think about it – weeks before we think it would probably be nice to have a similar situation like the opponent, but that’s pretty rare that happens and we are used to it. I’m happy to have this opportunity on Wednesday.
On the difference in Liverpool’s home and away form…
I think it was because of the performances and the opponents. I don’t remember all the opponents, to be honest, but that might be the reason [for the difference]. You know, we had really good moments in the season and we won the Tottenham game recently – Tottenham and West Ham were really good games when you see how they are doing around those games. But then consistency was the issue and that’s maybe the reason. It has nothing to do with Anfield, there is nothing bad to say about Anfield. Absolutely nothing – that we don’t like it there or the pitch is not good enough. It’s all fine. It was about the games.
On responding to the earlier question about the German national team…
Yes, I was asked. I didn’t mention it because Joachim Löw had said he would step down. I didn’t say it proactively, I just said what I would say when they mention names like mine. I said ‘no’ this, or after this summer or whenever it will be, I will not be available as a potential coach of the German team.
On why the German national team doesn’t fit into his ‘life plan’…
I have three years left at Liverpool this summer, don’t I? It’s a simple statement, a simple situation: you sign a contract and you would normally try to stick to that contract, don’t you? I had contracts at Mainz where I stuck with them even though there was interest from other Bundesliga teams with more money. It is just timing and money, if it doesn’t work out then you don’t need to lose any sleep over it. I don’t have a problem with it.
On comparisons between Liverpool’s current season and a difficult one he experienced with Borussia Dortmund…
Of course, some things can be compared because injuries also led to things in Dortmund as well, and here as well. But it’s different, though. I think with Dortmund we were 17th or even 18th in the league, which was horrible of course. The situation was still completely different there than it is here. I think it’s more challenging here now, but I just don’t want to look back now – only when people ask me. The situation we’re in at the moment, we’re trying to come out of it. To be honest with you, we didn’t have the performances we needed but we’re going to play in the Champions League. We never had momentum in the Premier League season but we have the momentum in the Champions League now. We managed to qualify from the group stages and we played very well against Leipzig. Of course, they have very different momentum. We know that. They won four matches on the trot, I believe. So the statistics are a bit different. But the good thing about football is that the previous results don’t really have any impact on the next match. And if it’s a different tournament, even less so. So, we look forward to the challenge tomorrow.
On potential candidates for the Germany job, and what makes Leipzig a dangerous opponent tomorrow…
I don’t know, I’m completely the wrong person to ask. I was just as surprised as everybody else when I heard the news today. But there’s enough time left to find a successor now, so that’s no big deal. I’m sure the people will do that thoroughly.
Leipzig are good, they’re just good. There’s nothing else to say about them. They have a great team, a great manager. I don’t know whether they’re any more dangerous than four weeks ago. It’s only half-time now. We’ve been in this game long enough to know we are not qualified yet, we are not there yet. We know that. But Leipzig were good and are good. We had a very good match on that day as well. We were happy with it, we didn’t allow Leipzig to dominate the way they wanted to. And that’s what we want to try again tomorrow. We’ll just have to see who we can field and who Leipzig can field; when you have such a long gap between the first and second legs you have no idea whether the team or the line-up will be similar again. It’ll be similar definitely but not exactly the same. I don’t know what Leipzig’s situation is or what their team might be like. We’ll see tomorrow night. But this is not what it’s about. It’s just about finding a way in the match to get the result that you need. And that’s what we are going to work on.
On why he has faith in his team in this competition, and whether Fabinho is an option in midfield for the game…
Two things: the team, the moments we had on the pitch, the competition, the quality of the boys. And football in general, because you always have a chance in the next game. That’s already enough, or must be enough most of the time. As I said, it’s half-time and we have to play the game that gives us the opportunity to go to the next round. If we play that good that we can do that then we deserve it. If not, then not. That’s the situation. I have no doubts about us for tomorrow; not that I know we will go through 100 per cent, but I know we will give Leipzig a proper fight. And that’s the only thing I need to know in the moment. For all the rest, there’s no guarantee for anything – not for them, not for us. But there’s 95 minutes to use to get closer to the things you want.
I don’t know with Fab. We have to see. I know, but I don’t say it – maybe that’s better, or that’s the truth. But we will see. Yes, it’s an opportunity but having Fab back is in general good. We didn’t play him obviously for the [Fulham] game from the beginning because just after a long time being out and then two games in a row, we thought it makes not too much sense. Or is too dangerous in our situation actually. Now he is ready. But if he will play centre-half or midfield, that decision you will see tomorrow.