Klopp expects big Sunderland reaction
Jürgen Klopp has warned Liverpool to be prepared for a reaction from tonight's opponents Sunderland as they look to put Boxing Day disappointment behind them.
The Black Cats were beaten 4-1 by Manchester City four days ago, a result which left them seven points adrift from safety in the Barclays Premier League.
But Klopp is not anticipating a similar showing at the Stadium of Light from the 19th-placed Mackems, having gauged the reaction of their manager Sam Allardyce.
“For them it’s a very important game,” the German told the Liverpool Echo. “They have 12 points at this moment. Maybe all the other teams will win and they lose so it’s a big gap.
“This time I tried to get some information myself. Yesterday I had time to watch a little bit of what Sam Allardyce said.
“Maybe they’re going to buy new players in January, I don’t know. They have to react and change.
“I don’t know if it’s from last game to next game or in the transfer window, I’m not sure about this. But something will happen.
“Sam is a very experienced manager in situations like this so I’m sure he will try and everyone will see a reaction from the last game after they lost against Man City.
“Most teams of the league lost against Man City so it’s not a big problem but he will want to see another kind of play so that’s what I said, they will defend with passion and that’s what we know and we have to create our own idea and bring it through.”
Liverpool's last outing saw them bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Watford by deservedly earning three points against Leicester City thanks to Christian Benteke’s 63rd-minute winner
Klopp was pleased with the reaction of his team and praised their constantly improving ability to react to difficult situations during games.
The 48-year-old added: “We have no problem with character. The character of the team is great.
“Maybe you speak about mentality. That’s what we have to create.
“You can’t say you can’t change mentality. You need experience for a game, for a situation to change it and that’s what we try to do every day.
“That’s not far away and you shouldn’t make a final judgement about mentality.
“But you can make a final judgement about character. The character of the boys is really good.
“When we have time to train they all want to improve. But then there are problems in a game and you have to get stronger as a group, as a team, in situations like this.
“That’s only works with common experiences - ‘we did it, come on let’s do it again’.
“That’s what we try to do but that needs time.”