Klopp Hopes to Give Liverpool Season ‘A Little Push’ against Wolves

Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Liverpool - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 25, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Liverpool - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 25, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts after the match. (Reuters)
TT
20

Klopp Hopes to Give Liverpool Season ‘A Little Push’ against Wolves

Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Liverpool - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 25, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Liverpool - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 25, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts after the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool will play Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fourth time in 11 games and manager Jurgen Klopp said they will look to get their Premier League season back on track as they chase a top four spot in a "super important week".

Liverpool are seventh in the standings, nine points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place, but Klopp's side have two games in hand, with arch rivals Manchester United visiting Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool played Wolves twice in the FA Cup, winning the replay 1-0 before losing 3-0 in the reverse league fixture earlier this month and Klopp said he hoped to learn from their mistakes in that defeat.

"Nothing I saw in training suggests we don't have a chance. We know a lot about each other and we know it won't be easy. There won't be the most surprising information and we have to make sure we are ready," Klopp told reporters.

"It is a super important week, we cannot ignore that. We have two home games... I would love to give the season a little push this week and we need results for that. And for results we need good performances.

"The main difference is we will play at Anfield and we have to make that count. It's a long period between games, we want to put it right. But I am more focused on giving the season a proper push, we need to find a steady mood."

Liverpool still have several injuries, however, with influential midfielder Thiago Alcantara still sidelined with a hip problem while defender Joe Gomez is also ruled out with a muscle injury.

The club did receive a boost with Luis Diaz back in training after a knee injury but Klopp said the Colombian forward has not trained with the team yet.

Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez is a doubt with a shoulder injury but Klopp said it was "massive" to have former Wolves winger Diogo Jota back after the Portugal international returned from a calf injury that had ruled him out of the World Cup.

"Diogo is an exceptional player. He needs to get rhythm now," Klopp said.

"He was tired after the game on Saturday (a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace) and we have to see. He will definitely be involved again... He's a top class player, versatile, helpful for this busy period."



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
TT
20

'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."