Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp need repeat performance to avoid Champions League slip up against Maribor

Klopp's side cannot take anything for granted, despite hitting seven past the Slovenians last time

Jurgen Klopp's side cannot afford to slip up against Maribor on Wednesday (Getty)

The ease with which Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain combined to score the sixth goal of the night said everything about the gulf in quality between Liverpool and NK Maribor two weeks' ago.

Sturridge picked up on a loose pass by Marko Suler, carried the move forward confidently then slipped the ball between two defenders to his right. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first touch controlled it, his second tapped it towards goal and despite it being a somewhat telegraphed strike, goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic dived the wrong way.

That late goal, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first for the club, had already made it the club’s biggest-ever European away victory before Trent Alexander-Arnold added his name to the scoresheet in stoppage time, and such a rout had looked on the cards since Roberto Firmino opened the scoring after just four minutes.

To say that Liverpool made light work of Maribor that night is an understatement and ahead of the reverse fixture, to be played at Anfield on Wednesday, a similar margin of victory is expected by many. After two draws in their opening two games, this double-header against the weakest team in the group was always seen six vital points, but a glance at the Group E standings shows why nothing can be taken for granted.

Spartak Moscow’s shock 5-1 home win over Sevilla in the last round of fixtures helped Liverpool, but it also blew the group wide open. Klopp’s side are top on five points, ahead of Spartak on goal difference, with Sevilla one point behind the pair.

A slip up in this second meeting with Maribor would always have been unforgivable, but as the two other teams retain realistic hopes of winning the group, a victory over the Slovenian also-rans is all the more important. Liverpool have a trip to Seville later this month, while the final fixture against Spartak at home does not seem so straight-forward anymore.

Klopp is keen to act against complacency, and reminded his players of that much on Tuesday with an old German saying: “You should not split the bear before you've shot him.” His home country’s footballing heritage also tells him that anything is possible.

“I am from Germany so I know in 1954 we lost against Hungary in the group stage really clear then won the World Cup final,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “Nobody would have expected that. That’s football. That is how I learned it pretty early in my life. It’s always possible.

“It’s all about our performance," Klopp added. "We have to use the little advantage of being the home team, using the crowd, being spot on again. We did so well in Maribor, that was the reason for the result – not the quality of the opponent. At the end it looked like a big difference but it was only because of our start. We have to do that again.”

Managing the expectations of his players is one thing, but those of the fans are another entirely. Though Liverpool eventually beat Huddersfield Town 3-0 on Saturday, they were booed off by their own supporters at half time after drawing a blank for the first 45 minutes. Anfield’s febrile atmosphere is usually thought of as a blessing, particularly on those ‘great European nights’, but there are times when it can be a curse.

Klopp is a coach who is wary of lecturing his own supporters, but he for one will not panic if take longer than four minutes to find a breakthrough this time.

“Fans are allowed to expect pretty much everything and I think it makes sense in life to expect things that make it easier to enjoy what you see,” the Liverpool manager said.

“If you expect a high result from the first second and you are already nervous in the first minute then that would not be too smart. But I know our fans will be in the game and wanting to see good football and that is what we want to show. If anyone is expecting something like this [7-0], I cannot change that.

Klopp added: “We have three more games, nine points, we had the first two games with good performances but not enough points, so there is nothing to waste now. We have to be and we will be 100 per cent serious. I will make sure of that.”