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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp does not see Midtjylland as a “small club” in the Champions League this season.
Tuesday’s crash at Anfield, live in RTÉ2It will be the first time Liverpool and Midtjylland have met in a competitive match.
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The game sees the six-time winners of the competition, Liverpool host a club that was founded in 1999 and is making its first appearance in the Champions League.
He’s been billed as ‘David vs. Goliath’ by some outlets in Denmark, but Klopp doesn’t see it that way.
“We don’t see Midtjylland as a small club, we see Midtjylland as a real challenger in this group,” he said.
“Nobody is part of the Champions League because they are beautiful cities, they are in the Champions League because they won the right the previous year.
“There are no small teams in the Champions League, there are only teams that show how great they are on the pitch, not in the pre-match press conferences.
“The 4-0 against Atalanta was not 4-0 – it was because the score was 4-0 but Midtjylland was in the game. Tomorrow will be a real challenge and we have to be prepared for it, and we will try to be – be.”
Last season, Liverpool, as defending champions, were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 by Atlético de Madrid and were forced to watch the final of the competition from their summer training camp.
Klopp is eager to avoid another early exit this time around and is ready to resume the club’s love affair with the competition.
“It shouldn’t happen again, sure, but that’s a long way off. We played a very good game against Atlético, but people tend to forget that when you lose,” Klopp said.
“The Madrid game, we lost 1-0 there, but we were in the game and we had a magnificent game at home, which sounds crazy because we lost.
“Performance wise, it was not a problem, it was a very strange moment at the time and we had heard a lot of things the day before, and in the run-up to the game at Anfield, which would be the last game before The Lock. Things on around the game were completely different.
“But we love the competition even though we were knocked out early. It’s Liverpool in the Champions League at Anfield again tomorrow, even though there’s no crowd, and it’s a competition we love. I hope we show it last week as well.
“There are no guarantees, but there are many opportunities and we like opportunities, so let’s see where we go.”
Joel Matip, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara will not be fit in time to face Midtjylland.
Klopp was not revealing too much regarding the timelines for his return from injury, but revealed in his press conference prior to Tuesday’s Group D match that the trio would be lost against the Danish club.
Watch live Champions League coverage from Liverpool and Midtjylland tonight starting at 7.30pm
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