The Italians will come to Anfield on Wednesday night with the knowledge that the winner will confirm their qualification from the Champions League group and can breathe easy during the final round of fixtures.
But despite that incentive, the Liverpool boss has insisted his focus is reserved for Carlo Ancelotti’s men. Speaking before the game in a press conference that was broadcast via YouTube on the official club channel, Klopp said: “There are two weeks between tomorrow night and the Salzburg game, three games in between, so why should I think about the Salzburg game? There is absolutely no reason to really.”
Liverpool should have star forward Mohamed Salah fit after he sat out the 2-1 victory away at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Klopp appeared calm when asked for a fitness about about the Egyptian and eased fears that Salah wouldn’t be available.
Fit and ready
“Mo looked really good in training, said Klopp. We didn’t do too much yesterday but well see today but I’m not worried about it.”
One man who wont take part in the Napoli clash is central defender Joel Matip, who will have another scan to measure the progress of his return to fitness. Matip initially picked up his problem during the win over Sheffield United and has struggled to overcome what initially appeared to be a fairly minor knock.
Liverpool lost to Napoli in Naples thanks to two late goals a result that didn’t reflect the performance and have prior history of coming unstuck against the Italians. However, the 1-0 win that sent them through to the last 16 during their victorious Champions League run will inspire the squad.
Ancelotti’s men are in poor form having won none of their last five games and the Reds are in a fine position to be able to exploit this.