- Reds swept Foxes in PL last season
- But Leicester knocked Liverpool out of League Cup
- Reds lead all-time 46W-24D-39L
If the concept of a throw-in coach sounds a little odd, don’t worry: Jurgen Klopp was once like you.
And by once, we mean just a couple weeks ago.
[ MORE: JPW’s PL picks ]
“To be honest, I’d never heard about a throw-in coach,” Klopp said. “How it is as a football manager, you know a lot about different things. I played the game, I’ve been managing since around about 18 years or so. But that doesn’t mean I’m a goalkeeper specialist and I’m obviously not a throw-in specialist.”
Klopp is getting Liverpool ready for a Saturday visit to Leicester City to kick off the Premier League weekend (Watch live at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com), and was asked about his new throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark.
Yes, for a third time, we’re talking about a throw-in coach. And for good reason: The man holds the world record for longest throw-in.
As for the match at the King Power Stadium, Liverpool will look to build on last season’s 3-2 win over the Foxes which stood as their first victory in the away fixture in five seasons.
Leicester lost its season opener at Manchester United, but has since won a pair of league matches and plowed Fleetwood Town in the League Cup (Christian Fuchs scored a stunner in the 4-0 win).
Liverpool is 3-0, but the Foxes represent their stiffest test of the young season.
What they’re saying
Klopp on his new throw-in coach: “When I heard about Thomas, it was clear to me I wanted to meet him,” Klopp said. “When I met him, it was 100 per cent clear I wanted to employ him. Now he is here and we work on that from time to time. You cannot have enough specialists around you. I must always be the guy who makes the decisions on when we use all these specialists but you cannot have enough. We have the fitness, medical department, we have the nutrition, and now we have somebody for throw-ins. He’s a good guy, to be honest. He has already [made a difference].”
Kasper Schmeichel on signing a new contract with Leicester: “I’m very happy to be here for many more years. I’ve spent the majority of my career at Leicester now and had some amazing times here, so hopefully we’ll have some more. I’ve felt at home at this Club from day one, so I’d like to thank the fans for the support they’ve given me and also the owners who’ve played a huge part in my career. I want to bring more success to this Club as I’ve loved every minute and hopefully we can keep going in the right direction.”
Prediction
This could be a slip up for the Reds, albeit no bigger than Man City’s last weekend of play. We’re going to give two goals to both in a 2-2 draw.
