Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said that his team must “be brave” as they look to put a spanner in the works of quadruple-chasing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp's side defeated Villarreal this week to seal their place in the Champions League final, are one point behind Manchester City in the Premier League, face Chelsea in the FA Cup final and have already won the League Cup in what is shaping up to be a historic clean-sweep of trophies this season.
And Spurs have their own battle to fight as they sit two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal as the North London rivals look to secure a place in next season's Champions League.
Tottenham drew 2-2 with Liverpool in December's corresponding fixture and have also beaten Premier League leaders City home and away during the current campaign.
And the Italian believes they must have belief in themselves that Klopp's “incredible” team can be beaten.
“I said this to my players, we need to play a good game and be brave when we have the ball, don't be scared for all the pressure and to find the solution,” said Conte.
“We have improved a lot. We are in this race for a place in the Champions League and for this reason we need to get points in every game. Every game is a big chance for us to improve the table. In this game we have to try to beat Liverpool.
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“When you arrive at this point of the season and you are in a race for every target, it gives you a big, big push to do something incredible.
“I think Jurgen Klopp is doing a fantastic job with his team. It is not easy, especially for an English team to arrive at the end of the season to stay in the race for all the competitions that you compete [in].
“It is incredible. You can see Liverpool's players run a lot, they have not had many injuries. Their enthusiasm is not 100 per cent, it is 200 per cent. You don't feel the fatigue when you reach this point.”
Conte also said at his pre-match press conference that loan star Dejan Kulusevski was “100 per cent” a Tottenham player.
The Swede, who has been a sensation since joining from Juventus in the January transfer window, is on an 18-month loan, but Spurs have the option to buy, which would turn into an obligation should certain on-field criteria be met.
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Conte has no concerns about Kulusevski's future: “He’s on loan but it’s like a deal ended. He’s a Tottenham player, 100 per cent in every aspect.
“Not officially but he’s 100 per cent a Tottenham player.”
Spurs look set to be without wing-back Sergio Reguilon for the rest of the season due to a groin injury. With Matt Doherty out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury it leaves Spurs down to just two wing-backs in the shape of Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon.
“Reguilon’s not available,” Conte said. “He hasn’t trained with us and honestly I don’t know as there are only two weeks until the end of the season whether it will be possible for him to come back this season.”
