Swansea vs. Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp's Key Pre-Match Press Conference Quotes

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has marked out the defence as a key area for his side to improve on next season.

The Reds face Swansea City in the Premier League on Sunday following their 1-0 defeat to Villarreal in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

Klopp believes his side have already solved a number of their problems since he took over as manager in October—particularly defending at set pieces—but he is eager to see further improvement at the back, per Liam Prenderville in the Mirror: "We solved a lot of problems. Set pieces were the worst thing. We needed to improve and we did. To build up a stability (in defence) is a big target for next season."

The German manager has already confirmed the recruitment of one new defender with Schalke 04's Joel Matip set to join in the summer, while Liverpool have been linked to Borussia Dortmund's Neven Subotic of late, per German outlet Revier Sport (via the Daily Star's Marc Williams). 

Liverpool will need to be solid in defence next Thursday if they are to turn around their 1-0 deficit against Villarreal to reach the Europa League final.

But Klopp insisted that his side's focus at the moment is only on the Swansea match, per Liverpool:

Klopp also expressed some concerns about the midday kick-off time for the Liberty Stadium clash, per the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce:

However, he was positive about Danny Ings nearing a return to action having been absent through injury since October, and he was very complimentary about the former Burnley striker, per Liverpool:

Swansea have been well beaten in their last two outings, conceding seven goals in total while not scoring once.

The Reds will be eager to take advantage of the Welsh side's poor form as they look to finish as high in the Premier League table as possible.

Klopp hinted he would make changes to the side that turned out against Villarreal, per BBC Sport's Juliette Ferrington:

However, even with a potentially weakened side, Liverpool should still have the quality to prevail against Swansea, and they will be desperate to bounce back having let a two-goal lead slip last time out in the league against Newcastle United.