Jürgen Klopp, Marco Silva, Pep Lijnders, João Palhinha, Virgil van Dijk and Bobby De Cordova-Reid look ahead to a huge First Leg at Anfield.
Jürgen Klopp
We know we will have to be absolutely on our toes for the full 180-200 minutes of the two legs. Fulham's quality is not an unknown quantity, I will say it like this, and they have shown on so many occasions that they have the tools and the know-how to give many problems. We did not need to find out in the way that we did to realise this but the last game we played against them told us everything that we needed to know about Fulham. The fact that we scored four worldies and were still a bit lucky in the end to win the game tells you everything. I would like to welcome Marco Silva, his staff and the Fulham players and supporters to Anfield in the knowledge that they will be just as keen to make it to Wembley as we are. Since we last met, Fulham have had some really good results while also qualifying for this Semi-Final and I am sure they will be excited by the prospect of a second leg at Craven Cottage in two weeks' time.
Marco Silva
Really huge respect for Liverpool, the quality they have, how they have been playing, the season they’re having, they are top of the league. They showed again in the FA Cup how they can be strong as well with some changes. They have the quality and they are in a very good moment. But, of course, if you are there, if you get the chance to play Semi-Finals, it’s because we have worked so hard to do it.
Pep Lijnders
We have to respect Fulham. They have a very clear way, a good offensive idea, really creative. They can build with three, the outside triangles are really flexible, so they constantly interchange positions. Jiménez is back to his old quality, how he was at Wolves, real focal point for them. If you let them play – we analysed – then you see how many problems they can create. You saw what they did with West Ham, you saw what they did with Forest, and now they won [against] Arsenal. If you let them play, they really play. They do the simple things really, really good. Really clear style. Marco does an incredible job, in my opinion. And then you have Andreas Pereira, he was my player when he was nine years old at PSV Eindhoven – unbelievable that you can play against him now – so much creativity, he can play early passes to Jiménez. Harry, of course, we know really well, a goal threat who can shoot from everywhere, great personality – we really like him. And then Willian, nothing to say, one of the better players. We really need to be spot on – like in the high press, our midfield press. We need to defend them with all we have and put our aggressive, attacking style into place.
João Palhinha
It’s something that is important for me, for the Club, because we never won this cup. When you win a title – can be Carabao, can be FA Cup, any title – it’s important. It’s good we don’t play against Salah, [but] some of our important players are out for this game as well. It will be a competitive game for us, and for them. We all know that sometimes the atmosphere can win games, and we need to be prepared for this and stay with our heads completely clear.
Virgil van Dijk
Fulham gave us a really good game last month so we should expect more of the same this time around. They are a good football team who can cause anyone problems, so we have to be ready for that. The incentive is very clear. We are two good performances and two good results away from a Final. It was only a couple of seasons ago that we did well enough to reach three major finals, but if there is one thing I learned in that year it is that you can never get enough of playing in finals with a trophy at stake. For a club like Liverpool it can be an expectation and it can be an ambitionm so we carry this responsibility as players, but it is never something that you could take for granted because it is so tough to achieve given how much every other club shares the same aim. Fulham definitely fall into this category. Just as this is a big chance for us, it is also a big chance for them. We respect this without question. It also makes sense for us to know this because if we did not I think we would create problems for ourselves. So there is pressure. But it is the kind of pressure that we have to embrace and also enjoy as much as we possibly can.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid
I don’t think we ever go into a game with fear. Obviously, we respect opponents but, at the same time, we know how good we are, how good we can play. Away from home [against Liverpool in December] we did well and probably should have got something from the game. We didn’t, and we’ll learn from the mistakes we made, and be better for it.
