Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned Liverpool that Southampton will treat Tuesday evening's match like 'our Champions League final' when the two sides meet at St Mary's.
Currently lying four points behind Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp's side must look to overcome the Saints and then hope for a better result against Wolverhampton Wanderers than the league-leaders can achieve at home to Aston Villa on the final day of the season in order to steal the Premier League crown at the death.
Despite being in poor form, Hasenhuttl's side have already drawn twice with the Sky Blues and are hoping to cause another upset that would derail the Reds' title hopes for good this season. However the former RB Leipzig boss' respect for Klopp is clear.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp asks question that is beyond Boris Johnson after Liverpool fans boo national anthem
READ MORE: Liverpool penalty shootout truth emerges as Diogo Jota and James Milner send Real Madrid message
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Hasenhuttl said: “We all know Jurgen and how strong he is and you can be sure that he doesn’t give up the chance for winning the league, for sure. This is still the title that is the most countable for everybody because it’s the hardest to get.
“For me it’s even harder to be over 38 games in the Premier League consistently on the top, than to win the Champions League sometimes. Even if he says it’s tough for him to go for all four, I know he will do everything to win this game on Tuesday to give himself a chance on the last day.”
The Reds enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win against Southampton at Anfield back in November, but after a gruelling 120 minutes on Saturday, followed by penalties, Klopp will be forced to rest some of his first choice players for the trip to the South Coast, even though the season finale is in touching distance.
Hasenhuttl said: “I think it is fantastic for the Premier League to have such a close title race. Everybody is electrified from this battle and we are now part of this duel. We have done our job this season against Man City with two points. They lost four points against us in the title race.
“Against Liverpool, the first game we lost, so now it’s up to us to show again that we can be competitive against a top team. For me, it’s one of the most difficult games to prepare for because of the flexibility of the opponent and the unbelievable offensive qualities they have.
“We have shown against the top teams that we can achieve something very big – and this is what we will need on Tuesday evening. It’s our Champions League final, if you want. And we are going for this with everything we have and the team that is on the pitch is the team that will do everything to make them proud.”
