Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool Ready to Fight for PL and UCL 'With All We Have'

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool are ready to fight for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles "with all we have" as they begin a demanding February schedule at West Ham United on Monday.

Klopp's side are set to kick off the first of five matches this month, and the Reds chief said Liverpool will make the most of their resources to keep alive their run at domestic and European silverware, per the Daily Mail's Dominic King:

"We will try (to attack both competitions), for sure. That is what we tried last year. This year people said we should focus only on the league. Now we are still in the Champions League and I am very happy about a very difficult game.

"Yet listening to some people, it seems we are already through because 'it's only Bayern Munich!' We will go for it with all we have. That's normal."

Liverpool travel to West Ham on Monday and can restore a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League before hosting Bournemouth on Saturday. 

The Reds have 10 days' respite before opening their Champions League round-of-16 tie at home to Bayern Munich on February 19 and then close out the month with league fixtures away to Manchester United and at home to Watford.

Klopp's side have won only twice in their last five games and drew 1-1 with Leicester City on Wednesday, and sportswriter Mark Lovell suggested the German champions will fancy their chances with star defender Virgil van Dijk suspended:

There will be few easy games for a team under pressure to win what would be a first top-flight title since 1990, but Klopp remained confident about their chances: "We are still in the race and if we dropped points or whatever, then it's still a point against Leicester. But the next game at West Ham is difficult and then comes Bournemouth, who beat Chelsea 4-0 and not because Chelsea gave them presents."

Liverpool's first match of the year was a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City, who dropped points in the Premier League race when they lost at Newcastle United on Tuesday.

Despite that setback, City manager Pep Guardiola is unwilling to give up the fight in the search for successive league crowns, via Omnisport:

Klopp has led last season's beaten finalists into the Champions League knockout stages in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009, when Rafael Benitez was at the helm.

City temporarily closed the gap on Liverpool to two points on Sunday after a Sergio Aguero hat-trick sunk Arsenal 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool have prioritised defence more in Van Dijk's first full season at the club, a move that has had the desired effect in most competitions—they were knocked out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the third rounds.

The arrival of £70 million goalkeeper Alisson Becker has also helped transform them into challengers on multiple fronts thanks to a much-improved defence, as BBC Sport's Mootaz Chehade recently noted:

The Merseysiders' first test will be away to Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham on Monday, but bigger fixtures lie just around the corner in a clutch month for Liverpool.