Jurgen Klopp said early Premier League kick-offs were no longer a problem for Liverpool and advised the club’s supporters to get a good night’s sleep to improve the atmosphere at Anfield for Sunday’s match against Burnley.
Liverpool play Burnley at 12 p.m. local time and Klopp has complained about early kickoffs in the past, saying he is “usually hungry” at noon.
“We always have this question about when we have a 12 noon kickoff. We don’t have issues with this anymore, we need atmosphere at 12 o’clock,” Klopp told reporters on Friday.
“If you have a ticket, go to bed at 10 p.m. latest, don’t drink and be on your toes from the first to the last second.”
League leaders Manchester City, who are a point ahead of Liverpool, can steal a march in the title race if they beat Watford at home on Saturday.
“We will know the City result before we start our game but we won’t make a big fuss about it because we are just fighting for the top spot in the league and it’s important to be optimistic and excited,” Klopp added.
“The plan is still to win football games and that is difficult enough. Our only problem this week is Burnley and that’s enough.
“We have to be really good to beat this team, (Sean) Dyche is doing an amazing job perhaps with not the best circumstances in the league.”
Mohamed Salah, who won the top scorer’s Golden Boot last season with 32 goals, is one goal shy of his 50th Premier League goal for Liverpool. He can equal Alan Shearer’s record of scoring 50 goals for a single club faster than any other player (66 games).
Although Salah has not scored in his last four league games in all competitions, Klopp is unconcerned about the Egyptian forward’s goal drought.
“He has an unbelievable record, his goals brought us where we are,” Klopp said.
“We have very often talks and if you are a striker or an offensive player and you have chances in a game, you want to score with them. That is clear.
“But as a manager I am more than used to it that players do not score all the time, that’s how it is.”