Quincy Charles
This week’s Champions League group stage matchup between Liverpool and Porto is expected to be highly competitive, according to manager Jurgen Klopp. Despite having qualified for the last16, the Reds will not take their opponents lightly.
“The last game was really unlucky for them. They were without their centre back pairing, had an injury early on and we scored at the wrong times for them and right times for us,” Klopp told reporters.
“We know our opponent will be motivated on the highest level for two main reasons. One, we won there in a way that they didn’t like… and on the other hand, if they win they have the final game of the group against Atletico Madrid.”
In the other Group B matchup on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid trail Porto by a single point and face AC Milan, the bottom team with just a single point.
Despite the recent return of midfielder Jordan Henderson and left-back Andy Robertson from injury, Klopp said he would make a decision on their participation closer to kickoff.
“We always respect the competition and but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first,” said the German.
“Hendo we’ll see, yesterday maybe he wasn’t 100%, he could play and do pretty much everything… Robbo’s similar, both are okay and ready to start, but with the schedule coming up, we have to make decisions.”
After Porto’s visit to Anfield, the Reds will play Southampton, Everton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in Premier League games within 11 days.
