You probably already know that the last time Liverpool won an England top flight title, it was in 1990, before the Premier League in its current incarnation was even born. You also know that the Reds have yet to win a trophy since Jurgen Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager in October of 2015.
These are facts that everyone is well aware of, and don’t really require mentioning, except for providing context of the Jurgen Klopp news conference today. The German’s side had led the Premier League by as many as seven points, but these days they trail Manchester City by one point.
In the UEFA Champions League, where they finished runners-up last season, Liverpool are currently on a 0-0 aggregate with Bayern Munich in the round of 16; and a score draw Wednesday night could put the Reds through to the quarterfinals. If Liverpool advances, half the UCL elite 8 would be composed of English teams, as the other three have already advanced.
Klopp maintains that he and his side are not feeling pressure right now however,
“The pressure and titles — if you come to England, people ask the same question and answers,” Klopp said at his prematch press conference ahead of the second/away leg of the round of 16 tie with Bayern Munich.
“But we don’t see that pressure.”
“We want to be champions, of course. We are not stupid. We don’t have pressure or feel pressure, the atmosphere is great in the club.
“If people say I have to achieve success, I am happy with that. People know where we started from and where we are at. We feel well, we are young team and we can develop further and see where it leads us to.”
Liverpool FC at Bayern Munich UEFA Champions League Round of 16 (Aggregate 0-0) FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday, March 13, 8PM local, Allianz Arena
Liverpool Starting XI prediction: go to this link
Injury Report for both teams: go to this link
Odds to qualify via Betfair: Liverpool 4/5, Bayern Munich 10/11
Google Result Probability: Bayern Munich win 45% Draw 27% Liverpool win 28%
Prediction: Bayern Munich 1, Liverpool 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.