Manchester City yet to see Liverpool at their best, claims Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Klopp believes Manchester City did not see the best of Liverpool on Sunday and could face a sterner challenge when the rivals meet again in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.

The Liverpool manager made seven changes from the 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica, while City survived a bruising encounter at Atlético Madrid, including 12 minutes of stoppage time, before also reaching the semi-finals. Klopp disputes that the contrast in preparations will enhance Liverpool’s prospects at Wembley, but he expects improvement from his team regardless because, in his opinion, they fell short in several departments in the Premier League encounter.

Klopp said: “We had it last week before we played City. We had an away game [in Lisbon] and arrived home in the middle of the next day. Travelling is intense, definitely. Will it give us at advantage? I have no idea.

“We will see. It was for both teams intense [on Wednesday]. City was really strong last week and we were not at our best, so I would like to see a game where we are at our best as well. That would be interesting.

“The boys did a lot of good stuff in the game, but I really think in a couple of positions we are able to perform on a completely different level and I think we should give that a try. And it’s a Cup game, a one-off. If it’s 2-2 again, it’s 120 minutes and if it stays like that it’s penalties and that would be really crazy if it goes all the way.

“I want to have 12 games from now until the end of the season and be in the finals. It’s tough but it’s still the best schedule to have because it means you are in all the competitions as long as possible. I’m really looking forward to the game. Wembley