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Jurgen Klopp suggests Mauricio Pochettino could have shock in store, ahead of Liverpool’s match with Tottenham Hotspur

Jurgen Klopp manager (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are due to meet in the Champions League final on Saturday evening.

Jurgen Klopp manager

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told his side’s official website that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur could spring a tactical surprise in the Champions League final.

Spurs and Liverpool have already met twice this campaign, and the Reds have run out winners on both occasions.

But the stakes will be higher than ever before in Madrid on Saturday.

And Klopp feels that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino could decide to make a shock decision to catch his side off guard at the weekend.

“They are really, really strong,” Klopp said. “We won both games in the league, we know that, we had a points advantage [in the table], but all those things don’t count. When we think about the home game, we played a brilliant first half, but the second half was not in the same way. It’s not that we were five levels above them, but that’s how a final actually should be.

“We think about Tottenham, of course, and what they do, they change systems, and they changed it in the game [at Anfield] and all that stuff. So, maybe in three weeks from their last matchday to the final they will have another system. Who knows? They are the things we both can do actually until we start and we will see what happens.”

Jurgen Klopp manager

Pochettino does face a hugely difficult selection decision in Madrid, as Tottenham now have a fully fit squad.

It is hard to see a system which would allow Spurs to start Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli all in the same line-up, without leaving themselves defensively vulnerable.

Spurs are arguably most likely to start in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but they have also used a diamond before this season.

Liverpool, on the other hand, are almost certain to set-up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.

Mauricio Pochettino manager