Liverpool's players will scarcely have had time to draw breath when they come head to head with Southampton on Tuesday. It was only on Saturday that they beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a gruelling 120-minute FA Cup Final. And the Saints will then have a mere four days until their last game of the premiership season on 22 May against Wolves as they try to close the gap with - or even leapfrog - Manchester City. According to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, this tight schedule is beginning to take its toll.
“They are pretty much sleeping on their massage beds,” he said on Monday.
Liverpool will arrive at Southampton after a successful FA Cup Final that sent key players to recover after injuries.
Although Liverpool fans are still clinging to dreams of a quadruple where the club bags another two trophies - the Champions League and Premier League - even winning against Southampton would fail to clinch it as Manchester City would still lead by one point.
“They’ll be completely fresh,” Klopp said. “We cannot go there, fall into this game and go, ‘What’s going on here?’ Southampton is a really well-drilled team, full of energy … and playing their last home game of the season.”
After 36 Premier League fixtures, Liverpool have clocked up 86 points and are in second place, four points behind leaders Manchester City's 90 points. City drew 2-2 at West Ham on Sunday, narrowing their lead, and if they lose or draw their last match of the season against Aston Villa on 22 May, Liverpool still have a chance of winning the League cup. However, the players are said to be worn out and furthermore, as Klopp has observed: “I don’t know the last time City dropped points two games in a row, historically."
This is Southampton's last home game of the season and, according to Klopp, is symbolically important so they will really have their dander up to avoid the humiliation of losing at home, putting even greater pressure on Liverpool to prevail.