Boss making no assumptions over West Ham
Jürgen Klopp hopes to see Liverpool nullify any counter-attacking threat posed by West Ham United but insists he won't make assumptions over how Saturday's opponents will play until he has thoroughly analysed them.
Slaven Bilic's side ran out 3-0 winners at Anfield back in August thanks to a tactical approach that saw them soak up pressure from the hosts before striking rapidly on the break from deep.
Klopp has previously spoken at length about his desire to see his team protect themselves from counters, even during their attacking phases, and so is keen to avoid them meeting a similar fate in the capital.
However, he does not believe the early season clash with the Hammers gives much indication as to how they will approach the return Barclays Premier League fixture at Upton Park.
"It’s a big, big thing in our game protecting our own offensive actions and our counter-pressing, different things that we can do in terms of [having a] good formation for protecting [ourselves]," he told reporters.
"That’s important. But to say more about this, first I have to see if they have developed to a completely different style.
"They developed, for sure, in comparison with last year, they played completely different football compared to what I saw in the Premier League last year and the start of this season.
"It’s a really good situation for them with [Slaven] Bilic as their manager and I know one of their assistant coaches. They have experience, they have good technical and tactical things, but I will have to see them first."
Liverpool face their third game in the space of a week when they head to east London as the festive fixture schedule continues.
But Klopp, who has previously been used to a winter break in the Bundesliga, says he relishes the challenge of motivating his team during such a busy run.
"Until now, it’s good. I have spoke too often about this with the number of games and things like this," he continued.
"The main information is that I knew about this before [I came to England] but it obviously feels different when you are in the middle of the fixtures.
"So for all teams it's a real challenge to be always prepared, to solve your problems, and be ready for the next game.
"That’s the situation but the good thing is it’s the same for all of the teams so we have to find solutions and that’s what we try."