Voices on the game... Liverpool

The Premier League is back and what a game, leaders Liverpool at the new stadium for the first time on Saturday (5.30pm). And what a cast for our latest 'voices on the game' - Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Jan Vertonghen and Melissa Reddy, Senior Football Correspondent for The Independent.

Melissa Reddy

Senior Football Correspondent, The Independent
Contributor, BBC 5 Live, SkySports, Premier League Productions

"The fuel for Liverpool’s unreal league run - picking up 58 points from 60 - has been the painful near miss of last season. The lesson of not winning the title after posting a club-record haul of 97 while suffering just one defeat was that being almost perfect wasn’t enough and so Jürgen Klopp’s side have upped the ante. There are two characteristics that really stand out about the pacesetters: how they have dealt with setbacks like the injuries to Alisson, Fabinho, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, as well as their varied ways of securing victory. They can blitz opposition, maximise set-pieces, grind out wins and do whatever else is required to collect maximum points.

"Tottenham have still been adjusting to Jose Mourinho’s demands defending between the lines and being sharper in transition, two areas I expect the visitors will look to dominate. Liverpool have commanded the midfield in nearly all their outings, while using the playmaking abilities of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as a weapon alongside Virgil van Dijk’s diagonals. I would not be surprised to see Spurs sit deep and opt for a 5-3-2 to reduce the impact of the full-backs. Liverpool have not conceded a goal in the last five league matches so it would be atypical for them to let in many. While Tottenham’s strengths lie in attack and Klopp’s front three can be explosive, I’d be pleasantly surprised if it was an open game."

Jose Mourinho

Head Coach, Tottenham Hotspur

“I think they are champions. I’ve been in similar situations and you don’t want to say it, you don’t want to celebrate, you want to keep it closed, but you know when you are champions, and I had situations where by October, November, I knew that I was going to be champion, and they know that. Before I joined the Club, I was doing some punditry and I said that three or four months ago. The team is so strong at this moment, I don’t want to say so much better, but better and more consistent than other fantastic teams that we have in the Premier League. It is about being good and consistent and they found that incredible combination. So yes, they are the best team, they are the new champions and we have to respect that. But everybody also has to respect the nature of football and the nature of football cannot stop us to think we can win. Are we going to win? I don’t know. But nobody can stop us from thinking that we can, and nobody can stop us going to the game with that ambition.”

Jan Vertonghen

Defender, Tottenham Hotspur

“You look at the City team that dominated for a couple of years but Liverpool, they are right up there with the best teams that have been in the Premier League in the last 10 years. We’ve always equalled their quality, we were close in the Champions League Final, but obviously they are now in a run of unbeaten games and trophies. They are very consistent, and they are showing every week that they deserve to be up there."

Jurgen Klopp

Manager, Liverpool

"A very good organised Tottenham side; yes, putting some emphasis on defending, for sure, having counter-attacks – but the team is too good technically that they will do that only. So, if we let them play, they will play. Eriksen, Alli, Lo Celso, a lot of players in the midfield already that can create situations, speed there with Moura and Son, 100 per cent. They played a lot of times now with five in the back, I’m not sure if they will do it again, but if, then they have Aurier and Sessegnon on the wings on top of that with speed.

"It’s a home game for Tottenham, you usually go there and they create and try to dominate the game. All of them go for a result and that’s possible in different ways. We cannot be sure 100 per cent what they will do, but we obviously have signs and we have to think about what he (Jose Mourinho) did against us when he was at Man United with his team. But it will not be the same because it’s different players and we are a different opponent. All these things, that’s normal analysis. Analysis always ends quite a way from the truth, the reality, because we don’t know 100 per cent. They can all make their own decisions. But that’s the same thing for us, we want to be unpredictable, so we have to be unpredictable in this game, we have to make things they cannot prepare for and that’s what we try, of course."