Kirkland sees shades of 2005 with Klopp’s Liverpool

Paralleled history stands Liverpool in good stead ahead of a potentially season-defining week.

Familiar foes await Juergen Klopp's side over the next six days.

ROUND OF 16, 1ST LEG

LIVERPOOL

BAYERN MUNICH

A double-header against Bayern Munich and Manchester United leaves zero room for diminished priorities.

Cumulative injuries and the suspension of key defender Virgil van Dijk make a Champions League clash with the Bavarians tomorrow morning (Singapore time) slightly more arduous than the Reds first anticipated.

But a depleted side facing Bundesliga heavyweights in the Round of 16 invariably casts Anfield minds back to their historic triumph in Europe's elite club competition, 14 years ago.

DEJA VU

Then, Rafael Benitez's charges were also hit by injuries and suspension ahead of their first leg against Bayer Leverkusen.

Xabi Alonso, Djibril Cisse and Florent Sinama-Pongolle were in the treatment room, while Steven Gerrard was on a one-match ban.

The Reds, however, won the first leg 3-1, paving the way to the Miracle of Istanbul.

Chris Kirkland, a member of that class of 2005, senses a similar mood of anticipation to the one which accompanied Benitez's erstwhile charges during their iconic run to Istanbul.

"There is a similar feeling, yeah," he told The New Paper in an exclusive interview.

"Obviously, all the negatives are from outside the club which you're going to get, people trying to put you down, put the team down and trying to create problems when there isn't any.

"We've seen (in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth) it's a good result and hopefully we can build on that in the next couple of games coming up."

For Klopp, a 30th meeting with Bayern is no less personal.

A decade ago, he was passed over for the Bavarians' top job. It set the wheels in motion for him to achieve with Borussia Dortmund what United did to Liverpool domestically.

He knocked them off their perch.

Despite a sluggish start under Niko Kovac, however, Kirkland is wary of FC Hollywood's renewed ascendancy as they aim to retain the German title and deny Klopp's former club.

"They've come back. I think they had a bad start but they're only (a few) points off the top of the Bundesliga," he admitted.

The two-point gap could be increased to five if Dortmund beat Nuremberg this morning.

"For many years, (Bayern) have been superb. Are they the same force as they were five, six years ago? Probably not," Kirkland added.

"But they're still an extremely dangerous side, so we're going to have to be at our very best to beat them."

Echoes of 2005 will also follow Liverpool as they aim to regain control of the English Premier League title race in visiting a United side resurgent under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Kirkland featured in the make-or-break Champions League group finale with Olympiakos in the 2004/05 campaign that booked their place in the knockout stages before taking on Everton just days later.

He said: "It doesn't (get any easier) and it shouldn't do because it's the best league in the world.

"At a big club, you expect to be in the latter stages of the Champions League, so you know that's always going to be a possibility.

"But as a player, these players (here), any players, they want to play in the big games and they don't come much bigger than them in the next few weeks."

HEART OVER HEAD

Heart often overrules head when the subject of Liverpool's 29-year wait for the title is broached but Kirkland, now assistant manager of the Reds' women's team, does not see the pursuit of success as a binary choice for last season's Champions League finalists.

"It's Liverpool. You should always be fighting on all fronts," he added.

"No matter what cup it is, you expect to progress as far as you can.

"We've got a big-enough squad - we did have back then (in 2005) as well - so all competitions with Liverpool, you've got to try and go as far as you can.

"That was a special year and obviously 2001 with the treble as well.

"It's been a long time, so hopefully, we can do something special this season."