Jurgen Klopp offers his thoughts on the EFL Cup fourth round draw

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The fourth round draw brought about some big ties including a Manchester derby, West Ham v Chelsea while Liverpool were paired with Tottenham.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said the fourth round draw for the EFL Cup is a big boost for the competition, he told reporters at a press conference, as quoted by the official Liverpool website.

The Reds were handed a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur as reward for their comfortable 3-0 win over Derby County on Tuesday but there were other stand-out clashes.

West Ham United will take on Chelsea while Manchester United will take on Manchester City in arguably the pick of the ties that will take place at the end of October.

Klopp is quoted by Liverpool’s website, saying: “I was waiting for the draw and then saw West Ham – Chelsea, a little smile to be honest; then Manchester United – City, oh nice, another smile; then a freeze in my face because we got Tottenham! But it’s good. I think it’s a big boost for the competition.

“When I came here I had to explain why we field strong line-ups and now in the competition it looks like a semi-final each game.

“It’s a big opportunity for all the teams, they all try to go through and you can see this with the line-ups. That’s pretty exciting. I am happy about playing at home.

“When we cannot have European nights, let’s take what we can get. It will be fantastic and I am really looking forward to it.”

Klopp acknowledges the difficulty his side will have against a very good Tottenham side, but he also points out that the competition has not had the kind of treatment or recognition as other tournaments.

Given the magnitude of one or two of the fixtures, the approach of some sides to the competition might change and there could be full strength teams on show.

Also, he points out the lack of European football for Liverpool gives them the chance to really target the competition they finished runners-up in last season, as he looks to go one better and claim his first piece of silverware on Merseyside. Either way, at the quarter-final stage the competition will open up with at least two of the favourites heading out.