Securing three wins on the hop and yet to concede a goal, Liverpool finish off their domestic pre-season friendlies on Wednesday night when they square off with Championship side Huddersfield Town at John Smith’s Stadium. Although Reds boss Jurgen Klopp isn’t likely to be too familiar with the Terriers, there’ll be one familiar face waiting for him in West Yorkshire in the form of David Wagner.
“We worked for a few years together,” the Liverpool manager told the club’s official website. “He was my coach of our U23 side in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. He is an experienced manager. He has worked in youth teams and he has done a really good job up until now,” explained Klopp, reflecting on his time with the German-American. “He made a big impact, I heard, when he went to Huddersfield. It changed a lot and that’s really good.”
A narrow victory over Merseyside natives Tranmere Rovers kicked-off Liverpool’s preparations for the coming campaign and they followed that up with a blowout of League One side Fleetwood Town and comfortable 2-0 win over newly promoted Championship side Wigan Athletic. A string of prestigious friendlies await the Reds next with the likes of AC Milan and Barcelona just over the horizon, but the Anfield outfit won’t be getting ahead of themselves or underestimate the Terriers — Klopp knows this one won’t be easy.
“Playing against a Championship team in a pre-season game is really difficult because they are really hot,” added the charismatic German. “They are greedy, they are ambitious and sometimes, maybe sometimes, it’s one of the best games in their whole year – so no big pressure and only opportunity,” mused Klopp, keen to take the pressure of his players. “I know a few players [in the Huddersfield team] because they have brought in a few German players and I managed two of them in the past. They are a really good team, for sure, and it’s a good challenge for us.”
