Jurgen Klopp is gearing up for his seventh full season in the Premier League, and that knows his Liverpool side will have a "massive fight" on their hands just to finish in the top four.
The Reds have qualified for the Champions League in each of the past six campaigns as the German slowly brought the good times back to Anfield. But even with two trophies and two runners-up medals in the bag from last season, as well as £64million spent on new signing Darwin Nunez, Klopp knows that nothing is guaranteed next time around and it'll take an enormous effort from his team to once again book their place in Europe's premier competition.
"It's always like this: the main target is to qualify for the Champions League," the German told Sky Sports. "It's really difficult enough already. When you reach that and then still have time to fight for the title, then you do that. But for the majority of the season you fight for the Champions League."
When Klopp first sat the Anfield hot seat, Liverpool had spent five of the previous six terms outside of the Champions League, and the Reds boss believes that they deserve more credit for their consistency in recent years. "I know when you qualify for four or five years in a row, people don't appreciate that anymore like when we qualified the first time," Klopp explained. "But it's still the main thing to do."
And to this season's race specifically, the former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz manager is already enthralled in how hot the competition will be just to finish inside the all-important top four spots - never mind attempting to take the Premier League crown from champions Manchester City.
"That will be a massive fight, oh my god," Klopp affirmed. "That's the Premier League. I have no idea who will make the race, it looks like City in the end will be the champion. If we hadn't have been champion I think they would've won it five or six times in a row which is really crazy in this country. But our target is to play the best possible season for us. What can we squeeze out? Let's see. Really looking forward to it."
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Manchester United legend Roy Keane thinks the race will still be between Liverpool and City, though, having been asked if Chelsea or any other clubs could force their way into the equation. "I don't think they will close the gap. I think they will be a bit better," Keane told Sky Bet. "They have quality and the recruitment, but you can't look beyond Liverpool and Man City."
The ex-United captain went on to tip City for the grand prize, believing that Pep Guardiola's management and the signing of Erling Haaland will be too much for Klopp's Reds. "[They have got] brilliant players," Keane added. "They've obviously improved with an unbelievable striker and they've got one of the greatest managers ever in Pep."
