Before his team’s Carabao Cup match against Leicester on Wednesday night, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sent a message to his supporters.
The Championship leaders will be the Reds’ first opponent in the cup, and Liverpool is anticipated to make numerous changes from the lineup that defeated West Ham on Sunday.
3 days following the Carabao Cup match. When Klopp’s team travels to London to face Ange Postecoglou’s hotly favored Tottenham Hotspur, it will likely be their biggest test of the year.
Prior to Wednesday’s cup match, Klopp said in the program notes that the competition is important to him personally and that whoever he chooses will “give everything” on the night in the hopes of making it to Wembley the following year.
“On a personal level, I have some beautiful memories of the Carabao Cup, but I always maintain that the final does not start at Wembley in February, he wrote for Liverpoolfc.com. For us, it begins tonight at Anfield because our journey begins when the referee blows his whistle to indicate the beginning of the game. So, how far we advance in the competition is up to us.
“There will be those who think I changed the team too much and people who think I changed it too little, but I can state without a doubt that the team I pick will be the one I think will offer us the best chance to win the tie.
“The players have already demonstrated this season that they are willing to collaborate and give their all, regardless of who’s name is on the back of our red shirts, so maybe it will be the same tonight”.
With seven wins out of their last eight games, Leicester leads the Championship. In response to the challenge of meeting them, Klopp said: “I want the supporters and ourselves to enjoy what we are doing and the only way to achieve this is by working as hard as we possibly can in every moment.
“We must accomplish this tonight, without a doubt. Last season, Leicester suffered a significant setback, but they have rebounded amazingly. They are currently a Championship team, which is obviously something they will want to improve, but their form is more comparable to a Premier League team, so we should anticipate a proper test.
“I’d want to extend a warm welcome to Enzo Maresca, his team, and staff at Anfield and offer my congratulations on their efforts this season thus far. I’m incredibly impressed. I know how difficult it can be to bounce back from relegation in a positive way, but Leicester are achieving it, and that says a lot about the work they are doing as a club and a team.”
Seven of the past ten competitive encounters between Liverpool and Leicester have ended in a Liverpool victory.
In order to win the 2022 Carabao Cup, the Reds defeated the Foxes on penalties. Klopp’s team also defeated the Foxes 4-0 in a preseason matchup between the two clubs back in Singapore in July.