Martin Keown has claimed Manchester City will be fuming by Jurgen Klopp’s attempts to throw all the pressure on them in the title race.
The BBC Sport pundit and Arsenal legend claimed Klopp’s mind games, emanating from his media conference on Thursday when he claimed City are hot favourites to win the league and only they can stop themselves securing a second consecutive title, will have irked those in Greater Manchester.
“This is the start of the mind games from Jurgen Klopp,” Keown told the Daily Mail in a Q&A on Friday (1.09pm). “He is trying to throw all the pressure on to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
“If you’re in City’s position and you hear that, it makes the blood boil a little. ’Only we can throw it away? So you don’t think you can win it?’ Of course Liverpool think they can. It’s the first shot from Klopp and there will be more to follow.
“Liverpool and City are in a tussle. Your opponents are very much on your mind. You only play them twice but, really, you’re playing them every game. You have to match their result. Klopp is trying to get into the mind of Guardiola.”
OPINION
You can bet your bottom dollar Klopp is going to spend the next few months hailing his team as the plucky underdogs in the title race, trying to valiantly stop the all-conquering Goliath from the other side of the east Lancashire Road. The Liverpool manager will use the media to play up City’s credentials, while down-playing his own side’s hopes. Much of it, of course, is true. City are an outstanding side, and one of the best ever seen on these shores. But Liverpool are proving to be more than a match for them this season as they head to Molineux tonight with English football’s only unbeaten league record. The Merseyside giants have a great opportunity to put Guardiola’ side under pressure by going forward points clear if they secure what would be a seventh consecutive Premier League win and continue their unblemished December, in which they also qualified for the Champions League knockout stage.