Diogo Jota

The Lowdown: Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool

Leicester City travel to Anfield on Sunday for an exciting Premier League encounter with Liverpool (7:15pm kick-off).
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Ahead of that clash with Jürgen Klopp's champions, who trail the Foxes by just a single point in the Premier League standings, LCFC.com takes a closer look at the 19-time English title winners.

The manager 

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Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Klopp has won both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League at Anfield.

Last year's FIFA Best Men's Coach of the Year, Jürgen Klopp, has built a team considered to be one of the strongest in world football, leading to last season's Premier League title triumph. 

Klopp's playing career saw the Stuttgart-born defender-turned-striker make over 325 appearances for Mainz 05 between 1990 and 2001, following brief spells at four other clubs.

It was at Mainz 05 where Klopp began forging his managerial reputation after winning six of his opening seven matches, defying the odds and guiding them to safety in the Bundesliga 2.

The following season brought even more success as the youthful manager transformed Mainz 05 into contenders who eventually finished in fourth place in German football's second division.

While Die Nullfünfer narrowly missed out on promotion for a second successive season in 2002/03, a third-place finish during the following campaign finally allowed them to rise into the top tier. 

Despite being reported as having the smallest playing budget in the league, Klopp inspired Mainz 05 to successive 14th-place finishes, sealing qualification to the UEFA Cup in 2005/06.

When the club was relegated in 2007, Klopp stayed, but in 2008, he did leave Bruchwegstadion to join Borussia Dortmund, where he would seal successive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.

Klopp's intense playing style on the pitch and laid-back character off it saw him make headlines across Europe - as Dortmund also won the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup twice.

However, while the 53-year-old was a beaten Champions League finalist at Dortmund, after four years of development at Liverpool, Klopp became a European champion with the Reds in 2019.

The German has since guided the Reds to additional Super Cup and Club World Cup victories, before ending a 30-year wait for Liverpool to be crowned as English champions in 2019/20.

The team

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Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota

Diogo Jota has made a good impression in his early Liverpool career.

Liverpool possess a supremely talented first team squad littered with established internationals who have enabled the Merseyside outfit to win the game's biggest prizes in recent seasons.

Strikers Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané netted a combined 57 goals in all competitions last season, with the Reds' attacking options being bolstered by the reported £41M signing of Diogo Jota.

Liverpool can also boast an admirable spine to their traditional starting XI with goalkeeper Alisson, centre-back Virgil van Dijk and midfielder Jordan Henderson also regularly starring behind a front-three.

This term, meanwhile, Salah has already found the net 10 times, while new signing Jota has contributed with seven goals in Liverpool colours, but injuries have been a concern for Jürgen Klopp's side.

While Alisson has since returned from a shoulder injury which kept him out of five games in all competitions, van Dijk (ligaments) and Joe Gomez (knee) are certain to miss Sunday's encounter.

Salah, Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Robertson are also doubts for the clash with Leicester, but updates on their situations will be provided later this week.

Nevertheless, the Reds still approach the fixture on a seven-game unbeaten run - a stretch of form which included a 5-0 UEFA Champions League win over Atalanta and, more recently, a 1-1 draw at Man City.

Previous encounters

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Thunderous Volley Versus Liverpool

Vardy scored a brilliant volley during the 2-0 triumph over the Merseyside outfit.

City are currently on a six-game run without a victory over Liverpool, stretching back to September 2017, when goals from Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani booked a 2-0 League Cup success on Filbert Way.

The Reds came out on top twice last term, narrowly beating Brendan Rodgers' men at Anfield, although Jürgen Klopp has tasted defeated by the Foxes on two previous occasions.

A brace from Jamie Vardy in February 2016, including a breath-taking half volley from distance, came en route to the title for Leicester in 2015/16 before a 3-1 triumph 12 months later.

Another duo of strikes from Vardy bookended a smart effort from Danny Drinkwater that day as Craig Shakespeare's City started a five-game winning run in the Premier League.

The trophy cabinet 

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Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson

After 30 years of waiting, Liverpool finally lifted the Premier League trophy at the end of 2019/20.

Premier League title holders Liverpool are the second most successful club in English top tier history, winning 19 titles, most recently being crowned champions last season.

The Reds have also lifted the FA Cup on a remarkable seven occasions, while the Merseyside club also hold the record for most League Cup triumphs (eight).

With six UEFA Champions League (formerly European Cup) successes to their name, the Reds are English football's most successive representatives in Europe.

The penalty shootout victory over Chelsea last August in the Super Cup Final, meanwhile, secured a fourth such title in the Anfield club's history, alongside three UEFA Cups.

Including Community Shield (formerly Charity Shield) wins and Second Division titles, Liverpool have won 66 major honours over the course of their trophy-laden 128-year history.

Last season's 1-0 win over Brazilian side Flamengo, on the other hand, also sealed their first-ever Club World Cup success in Qatar.

The stadium

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Anfield
Anfield

Anfield is an iconic ground in English football folklore.

With a capacity of 54,074, Anfield is the seventh largest football venue in England and has been Liverpool's home since 1892, undergoing several expansions in that time.

The iconic Kop is among the most famous stands in world football, generating a unique atmosphere on matchdays, alongside the Main Stand, Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand and the Anfield Road Stand.

Players running out at the stadium will be confronted by the famous 'This Is Anfield' sign upon their entrance to the field of play, another easily recognisable hallmark of Liverpool's home venue.

While also staging matches for rivals Everton between 1884 and 1892, Anfield has previously hosted Super League and Rugby League fixtures over its entire history.

In 2016, Leicester City were the visitors for Liverpool's first home match since the redevelopment of Anfield's new Main Stand, which increased its capacity by 8,000 seats.

Upcoming fixtures

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Liverpool
Liverpool

Like most teams, Liverpool have a busy fixture schedule over the winter months.

Liverpool entertain Atalanta at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League next Wednesday (8pm kick-off) before heading to Brighton & Hove Albion the following Saturday (12:30pm kick-off).

Another home European clash, against Ajax, follows on 1 December (8pm kick-off), ahead of the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on 5 December (3pm kick-off).

Over the festive period, the Reds will also face Midtjylland (A), Fulham (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Crystal Palace (A), West Bromwich Albion (H) and Newcastle United (A).

All times GMT.

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