Jurgen Klopp conceded his Liverpool side were not at their best against Manchester City on Sunday and would like to see them produce a better performance in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Pep Guardiola's side.
The two Premier League title rivals played out a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium, leaving City a point clear at the top of the table.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of his first FA Cup semi-final since arriving on Merseyside in 2015, Klopp said while City were "really strong", he feels his players could have found other levels.
Having also drawn 2-2 at Anfield earlier in the season, Klopp was asked whether the two teams could still surprise each other.
"Not just surprise, I think we all think a lot about these games, we have to," he said.
"I think City were 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, so let's give it a try.
"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, so I think we should give that a try."
City and Liverpool have met twice before at Wembley Stadium, with both games ending in a 1-1 draw before going to penalties. The Citizens eventually emerged victorious on both occasions in 2016 (EFL Cup final) and 2019 (Community Shield).
Klopp was also asked about his decision to start Mohamed Salah on the bench in Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Benfica in their Champions League quarter-final second leg, with Liverpool winning 6-4 on aggregate.
The Egyptian was brought on before the hour mark, but Klopp explained it was a decision made to try and give Salah some rest.
"The reason for Mo not starting is easy," he said. "Yes, he played against City, but we have after that hopefully 12 games. That's why when we have the opportunity to change, that's all. Even if Mo would have scored four goals last game, he wouldn't have started yesterday, so that's how it is."
The Reds boss also gave an update on Diogo Jota, who picked up a knock against Benfica, but the Portugal international is expected to be fit for the weekend.
"I said last night that Diogo got a knock – that swelled up slightly directly after the game, obviously while I was in the press conference," Klopp said.
"Good chance he will be alright, but we need to have a closer look tomorrow. That’s it."
Liverpool have progressed from eight of their last 10 FA Cup semi-final ties, only failing to do so in 1989-90 (v Crystal Palace) and in their most recent appearance at this stage in 2014-15 (v Aston Villa).
Man City's clash with Chelsea will decide WSL title, suggests Taylor
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor did not understate the importance of his side’s upcoming visit to Chelsea as he described the clash as “more than just a game”.
City currently sit top of the Women’s Super League (WSL) one point above closest rivals Chelsea on 19 points. The defending champions hold a game in hand, however, after their match against Manchester United was postponed.
Both enter the match undefeated, with Chelsea earning six wins from six while Manchester City have six wins and one draw from seven matches, only taking a point away at Arsenal.
Taylor’s managerial adversary, Sonia Bompastor, will be aiming to become the first-ever coach to win each of their first seven games in the WSL.
With City unbeaten in their last three WSL meetings with Chelsea (W2 D1), Taylor is aware of the impact a positive result at Stamford Bridge could have on his title aspirations.
"It is more than just another game, of course. We have proven so far that we can play good stuff and have got good results along the way," he said in his press conference.
"We have been difficult to play against. There is no denying, these games are really important. For us, it is a good game and the fact it is Stamford Bridge gives us something different. We are looking forward to the challenge.
"It is a game that everyone is excited about."
It will be the first time the two teams have met at Chelsea’s iconic stadium. The Blues have won all six of their previous matches at Stamford Bridge in the WSL by an aggregate score of 17-4.
It is the most any team has ever played in the competition at a home venue while maintaining a 100% win record.
While City won this fixture at Kingsmeadow last year, earning a 1-0 victory over Chelsea through a Bunny Shaw goal, their opponents ultimately went on to claim the title on goal difference on the final day.
Yet when asked whether outcomes in games against Chelsea will decide the title, he said: "Everything would suggest that [it will]. It's too hard to say. They have made a good start, similar to us.
"I think for us we want to stay consistent, I think that's really important. The league table at the moment looks a little lopsided because they have a game to play and of course we want to make sure that we can give the best versions of ourselves in order to get the best result.
"I think that trying to win the game for us is the objective and it never changes.
"And we have a real good opportunity to do that, particularly with some of the performances that we have seen already this season and that for us is going to be our main goal in this game, to go to win."
There was positive injury news ahead of the clash as Taylor confirmed top scorer Shaw would be fit to start, though fans will face a nervy wait for top assister Lauren Hemp’s late fitness test to determine whether the England winger will be involved.
Haaland and Gyokeres 'not a priority' for Barcelona, says Deco
Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that a striker is “not a priority” for the club despite recent links to Erling Haaland and Viktor Gyokeres.
Deco affirmed the club’s faith in current number nine Robert Lewandowski, who is in form with 14 goals and two assists after 13 games in LaLiga this season.
Gyokeres, by comparison, has 16 goals and one assist in the Primeira Liga while, despite a dip in form, Erling Haaland has 12 goals in the Premier League this season.
Barcelona, however, are “happy” with Lewandowski and hope he will lead the line in the Catalonian capital for another season at least.
"First we have to know whether Haaland is what we want for the future. We don't know that now,” Deco told El Mundo Deportivo.
"At the moment we don't want any 'nine.' We have Robert. We are not planning anything with any 'nine.' It's not a priority because we have to focus on this season."
Lewandowski leads the Barcelona squad for shots (38) and shots on target (26) in the league, indicating the 36-year-old is still maintaining pace at the top level.
He leads the league for goals with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior coming closest to matching his tally, trailing by six goals.
"I think it's very difficult to find a striker like Robert nowadays. There are one or two of this level. Maybe Haaland or another one. There are not so many of this level available,” explained Deco.
"But we are not going to get hung up on finding any striker now because we are going to focus first on what Robert can do. I surely think he is happy to be here. He is a winner and if we have a big season I think he will want to stay.
"We want Robert to continue to be happy, to score goals and to stay at least one more season."
While the Pole is without a goal in two games, Barcelona’s rumoured target Gyokeres has not faltered.
The Swede caught global attention in Sporting CP’s recent Champions League clash with Manchester City, producing a hat-trick to help his team to a shock 4-1 win.
He accumulated an expected goals (xG) total of 2.41 in the match, accounting for most of Sporting's overall 2.87xG.
"Gyokeres is a good player. He has been scoring goals for some time in Portugal. We know him as we know others, but it's not a priority for us right now,” said Deco.
"When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don't think it's the right time to talk about any player."
Cabal becomes second Juventus defender to suffer ACL injury
Juventus' Juan Cabal will undergo surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, intensifying the Serie A giants' defensive injury crisis.
The 23-year-old was forced to return to Turin after injuring his knee during training with the Colombia national team ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Ecuador.
Cabal is the second Juventus defender to suffer an ACL injury this season after Gleison Bremer, who hurt his left knee during their 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig last month.
Cabal has so far made nine appearances across all competitions this season.
Juventus are sixth in the Serie A standings and 11th in the Champions League's new-look league phase.
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