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• 'Did anyone expect us to be champions?' – Klopp not ready to assess final season at Anfield

  Jurgen Klopp refused to assess his final season at Liverpool just yet, despite the campaign seemingly starting to fizzle out.

  Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby dealt a huge blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes.

  The Reds are now three points clear of leaders Arsenal, while they are two points behind second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

  Klopp has just four matches left of his Liverpool tenure, though he is not ready to assess the final season of his stint just yet.

  "I would not assess it now. I have no clue, so I am not in the mood to give up, wave the white flag kind of thing," he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Ham.

  "I just think we have to look after ourselves; just make sure that we play better football. I said after the game 'why should a team who play like us against Everton be champions?' But the football we played before, a lot of good stuff. In January we looked invincible, with a depleted squad. Everybody went in the same direction, go for it, squeezed out results.

  "So, we deserve to be where we are. I want us to use the situation, don't feel the pressure, for whatever reason it is. The boys are incredible footballers and I see it as my job to create that atmosphere where they can be the best versions of themselves – and that's obviously how I have failed.

  "I don't know how it happened, but I didn't see anything of what I wanted us to be in the Everton game."

  Klopp did, though, reminded the media that Liverpool have performed above expectations.

  "Did anyone expect us to become champions at the start of the season? No, but it developed in this direction," Klopp added.

  "Just to explain how different it is. We cannot go back to the point where we say 'yeah, well [qualifying for the Champions League] is good enough'. It is very good, but because we were so close, we are very, very disappointed in this moment in time. We cannot change that."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  West Ham – Jarrod Bowen

  Bowen has scored in both of West Ham’s meetings with Liverpool so far this season – the only Hammers player to score in three different games against the Reds in a single campaign is Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.

  Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

  Salah has received criticism for his recent form, but he has scored 11 goals for Liverpool against West Ham in all competitions, only netting more against Manchester United (14) in his Reds career.

  MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

  West Ham have won just one of their last eight Premier League home games (D5 L2), beating Brentford 4-2 in February. They lost against Fulham last time out but haven’t lost consecutive home league games since a run of three in November/December 2022.

  Liverpool have already beaten West Ham 3-1 in the Premier League and 5-1 in the League Cup so far this season. This is the 11th different campaign in which they have faced the Hammers 3+ times, but they have never managed to beat them three times in any of the previous 10.

  Since keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Liverpool in the 2015-16 campaign, West Ham have conceded at least once in each of their last 15 against the Reds, conceding multiple goals in 12 of those games.

  Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than they have against West Ham (12) under Klopp.

  West Ham have lost 12 of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool, with both exceptions in this run coming at home (1-1 in February 2019, 3-2 in November 2021).

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  West Ham – 21.7%

  Liverpool – 52.5%

  Draw – 25.8%

• Slot gets Klopp's nod of approval as Liverpool close in on Feyenoord coach

  Jurgen Klopp has given his nod of approval to Liverpool's pursuit of Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot.

  Klopp has just four games remaining as Liverpool manager, having announced his intention to leave back in January.

  Liverpool's season is in danger of fizzling out, with Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby having dealt their Premier League title hopes a blow, while they also crashed out of the Europa League earlier this month.

  This week, reports emerged Liverpool, who were disappointed in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, had elected to move for Feyenoord's Slot as Klopp's replacement.

  Slot confirmed on Thursday that the clubs were in talks and he was confident a deal would be completed soon, and Klopp believes the Dutchman is an ideal fit.

  "I'm not involved in the process, but I like a lot about it, if he is the one and wants to take the job," Klopp said at a press conference ahead of Saturday's meeting with West Ham.

  "I like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy – a good guy. Some people I know, know him. I don't know him, but some people who know him say he's a good guy. I like that a lot. So good coach, good guy. Looking forward for the club, if he is the solution, if he is the man, I am more than happy."

  Expanding on what his replacement would be walking into at Anfield, Klopp added: "Best job in the world. Best club in the world.

  "Great job, great team, fantastic people. [Slot] 'would' be taking a really interesting job."

• Guardiola insists three teams still in title hunt despite Liverpool slip-up

  Pep Guardiola insists Liverpool remain in the Premier League title race, despite the Reds losing further ground on Arsenal and Manchester City in a dramatic few days at the summit. 

  Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday, a result which meant they failed to close the gap to Arsenal after the Gunners thrashed Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday.

  While Jurgen Klopp's men couldn't respond to the Gunners pulling clear, City did on Thursday, with Phil Foden scoring twice in an emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

  One point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, City know five wins from their five remaining matches will seal an unprecedented fourth successive English top-flight title.

  However, Guardiola expects further twists and turns in the coming weeks.

  Asked if Liverpool were still in contention after City's win, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "Yeah. Many things can happen. 

  "What happened with Liverpool, losing to Crystal Palace and Everton, can happen to us. It can happen to Arsenal. No-one is safe. We have to rest. Now it is just about recovering for the next one.

  "We have been here in the past but being here in the past doesn't mean it is going to happen. We have to do the things to make it happen."

  City's comprehensive win – in which Kevin De Bruyne scored his first headed goal in the Premier League – saw them cut Arsenal's goal difference advantage to eight goals.

  However, Guardiola believes it will be tough for City to close that gap, saying: "It is difficult to cut. The margin is so big. They score a lot of goals and don't concede. 

  "The main thing is to win the games. We have five games left and they are tough ones – it's a lot of games. We'll take it one game at a time."

  Foden's first goal against Brighton – a deflected free-kick – saw him become just the third player to score 50 top-flight goals under Guardiola while aged 23 or younger, after Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi.

  Foden is the favourite to be named Premier League Player of the Season, and while Guardiola believes he should be in contention, he says his player is more concerned with team honours.

  "For sure, but he wants to win the Premier League," Guardiola said when asked if Foden deserved individual honours. "His influence in the final third was better than in the last two or three games. Today he was more calm, his decision-making was good and to score goals is always good."