You'll have plenty to celebrate when you subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jurgen Klopp insists he won't have one eye on Liverpool's Champions League play-off with Hoffenheim when he picks a team for the Premier League opener at Watford.

The Reds travel to Vicarage Road on Saturday – just three days before a tricky trip to Germany in the first leg of the play-off round.

Advancing to the group stage is crucial both in terms of prestige and finance, but Klopp dismissed suggestions that he might hold some of his big names back to ensure they are fit and fresh for the clash with the Bundesliga outfit.

“No, we are only looking at Watford,” Klopp said.

“We go to Watford and I don’t know what we could do there to disappoint people, like we could lose confidence.

“You can’t measure the importance of it. It’s the first game and then Hoffenheim is the second game.

“If something happens, it happens, we can't avoid that. We could leave players behind and then they could slip in the kitchen.

“You cannot do this. We will play completely 100%. Maybe Watford will think we don’t have that mindset. It’s my job to make sure that does not happen. It’s a specific situation for all the clubs.

“Do you think Nice wanted to play Ajax and now Napoli? It’s a hard challenge because UEFA has the rules that the champions play each other and the other teams play against each other from the stronger leagues. It’s like this and we take it.”

The first leg against Hoffenheim will be Liverpool's first European game since their devastating Europa League final defeat to Sevilla in May 2016.

The stakes are high. Everything they worked so hard to achieve with that top-four finish last season will be on the line.

Klopp is leaving no stone unturned. He sent his assistants Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz on a spying mission at the weekend to watch Hoffenheim beat Bologna 3-0 in a friendly.

“It’s a very important game but there is a big difference between this and a European final,” he added.

“After the final we had no European football but after this game for sure we will play European football so that's a big difference.

“It’s no secret we want to play Champions League. We got a real tough opponent, they played an outstanding season. Yes, they lost two players but they more or less destroyed Bologna.

“After 30 minutes, Bologna had a red card but they were already 2-0 up. They are really good and have a fantastic young manager.

“We know what we are facing there. Maybe everyone was in front of the TV and thought ‘Young Boys of Bern please’ but then we got Hoffenheim.

“For me, I thought ‘Okay, Germany again’ so it happened. They are strong yes but if you want to play Champions League you have to beat teams like this.”