Liverpool Prepare for Jürgen Klopp’s Final, Must-Win Merseyside Derby

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The Reds must beat The Blues in Klopp’s final Merseyside Derby to keep their title hopes alive.

There are just five games left to play in the Jürgen Klopp era, and with it one Merseyside Derby left, with the Reds crossing Stanley Park tonight to take on Everton at Goodison in a rare mid-week Premier League kickoff under the lights.

For Liverpool, it’s a must-win if they’re to keep pace in the title race with Manchester City and leaders Arsenal. For Everton, any kind of a result could be important as the 16th-place Blues, currently five clear of the drop, battle to avoid relegation.

“It’s super important for us, obviously,” said Klopp, who thinks Everton’s win over the weekend against Nottingham Forest may have taken some of the pressure off Liverpool’s opponents heading into the final five league games.

“I think with the last two results, Everton pretty much sorted staying in the league. But their idea is to win and then it should be sorted, definitely. And for us it’s clear, the situation is clear, we don’t have to say again and again that it’s really important.”

After a difficult first half of the month that saw Liverpool knocked out of poll position in the Premier League and losing in the Europa League quarter-finals, the Reds took a positive step on the weekend in their own win, 3-1 away at Fulham.

Now, the only thing they can do is play the games as they come. Beat Everton and then worry about West Ham. Beat West Ham and then worry about Tottenham. And all while hoping that the better-placed Gunners and Citizens slip up.

“We are now where we are and we want to win all the games,” Klopp added. “But I can tell you it was from the first matchday the same. It’s not that you think, okay, with 38 matches try to win them. But you know you will try to win them all.

“It just doesn’t happen and you have to deal with all the little setbacks—if it’s injuries, if it’s results, stuff like this. Until two weeks ago everything was probably better than anybody expected, so it’s about how can you get this right feeling again.”