Jurgen Klopp's Big-Game Record Could Help Liverpool Overcome Etihad Woes

The final international break of 2015 is over, and Liverpool are set to face front-runners Manchester City in the pick of the weekend's Premier League games.

Neither side recorded a victory immediately prior to the international fortnight, with Liverpool losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace as Jurgen Klopp suffered his first defeat since taking charge last month. Meanwhile, City were held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa.

Both will be eager to record three points as the busy winter-fixture period gets underway.

Klopp will be seeking to change Liverpool's poor record at the Etihad Stadium—the Reds haven't won a league game at the home of City since 2008, when Dirk Kuyt secured a last-minute winner in a 3-2 victory.

In the seven games since then, Liverpool have won one—a League Cup Semi-Final first leg in 2011—and drawn one. The other five have ended in defeat, shipping 11 goals in the process.

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It's a record which is on par with Liverpool's recent outings at Stamford Bridge prior to their trip to face Jose Mourinho's side at the end of October. With four wins from their last 19 visits to SW6, and similarly the last success being in the League Cup in 2011, Klopp managed to banish the fear factor and oversee victory.

Falling behind early on against Chelsea, Klopp's side produced a controlled performance that showed a clear game plan, with Christian Benteke coming off the bench to good effect and Klopp's substitutes being bold and attacking.

Beating the big sides was something former boss Brendan Rodgers failed miserably with during his time at Anfield, especially away from home—where his only success in the league was at Old Trafford in March 2014.

Rodgers oversaw just five wins from 25 attempts against the traditional top-four sides of City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, per This Is Anfield.

Klopp

Klopp is a manager who has experience against the big teams, and his Borussia Dortmund faced England's then-champions in 2012 in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

"I played with Dortmund two times—never lost!” joked Klopp in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, as quoted by Press Association (h/t This Is Anfield).

Those two meetings ended in a draw—a somewhat fortuitous one for City, who equalised via a stoppage-time Mario Balotelli penalty—and a 1-0 victory for Klopp's BVB at the Westfalenstadion.

"I think eight players of this team are still there," said Klopp.

"They are high-quality, but the best news is it is football, so we have a chance—I don’t need more at this moment."

Liverpool

To overcome City and banish the record at the Etihad on Saturday, Klopp will need to produce another tactical masterplan as he did at Chelsea.

Having had several key first-team players with him at Melwood during the international break, this could really work in the manager's favour.

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Brazilian trio Lucas Leiva, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho all remained on Merseyside, allowing the manager time to work with them on specifics.

While the Liverpool squad has been beset by injuries, it meant that only nine players went away on international duty—and of those, not many played two games.

The game will come too soon for captain Jordan Henderson, but Klopp will make a late call on the fitness of former City forward Daniel Sturridge. It's likely the England man, who is yet to feature under Klopp, will be among the subs, with Christian Benteke therefore starting up front.

Individual Errors 

If Liverpool are to collect three points, they'll need to ensure that the individual errors which have been so costly in the past don't show up.

Dejan Lovren, who will come into the side in place of Mamadou Sakho after the Frenchman was ruled out for the rest of the year, suffered a difficult time of things in this corresponding fixture last season. Liverpool lost the game 3-1, with Lovren and fellow new signing Alberto Moreno struggling to cope with Stevan Jovetic in particular.

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The season before, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was the man producing the costly mistake, fumbling Alvaro Negredo's shot in first-half stoppage time. A 2-1 defeat, aided by a woeful offside call against Raheem Sterling, ultimately meant that City won the title and Liverpool finished second two points behind.

Such mistakes and small margins are what matter in the big games, and whatever the result on Saturday, Klopp will learn a lot more about his squad.

"You pick a player, put him on the pitch and say, 'Come on, show your best performance'. But if we need, we will do [transfers]," warned Klopp in an interview with Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.

A mistake from Mignolet, Lovren or any other player Klopp isn't sure about could see the manager seeking replacements in January.