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Jurgen Klopp says Chelsea will be worthy Premier League champions – but insists Liverpool aren't as far behind them as the table suggests.

Antonio Conte's side will clinch the title if they win at West Brom on Friday night.

The Londoners are currently 14 points better off than the third placed Reds, who led the way back in November before their challenge crumbled.

Klopp believes Chelsea's greater experience has given them a ruthless streak which Liverpool have lacked at times.

The Reds boss, who masterminded a win and a draw against Conte's men, also pointed to the clubs' contrasting fortunes on the injury front.

“You have to look at the games we played against Chelsea,” Klopp said.

“We were not worse than 14 points or whatever it is at the moment. That's for sure.

“But they are experienced, cold as ice and they get the points. They play very serious and finish when they have to finish.

“Now they are in a good run again and difficult to stop at this moment but we will all have a different season next year. It’s not just about Chelsea.

“You saw how we played against Tottenham (Liverpool won 2-0 at Anfield). We all know the gap is not that big, but the gap was big enough.

“Chelsea deserves the title but I said already they had the most luck with injuries.

“Diego Costa? Did he miss one game? Eden Hazard, was he out for one game? Pedro could play, Willian could play, their defensive line could play. You need this luck and then you can go through.

“I don’t say we could have gone through but the gap would have been closer.”

The Reds' current 70-point haul is already 10 more than they managed in the whole of last season and if they win their final two matches they will secure Champions League qualification.

Klopp believes progress would have been greater but for injuries to key personnel such as Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.

Mane, who underwent knee surgery last month, has missed a quarter of the campaign.

Liverpool haven't been the same side without the pace and creative spark of the £30million Senegal international, who remains their 13-goal top scorer.

His importance was underlined this week when he was crowned Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year. Have Liverpool been too reliant on him?

“A player like Sadio with the impact he had on our game, any team would miss him,” Klopp added.

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“You really can't compare. What if Chelsea play all or a lot of the season without Eden Hazard? It makes a difference.

“To say actually you should have another player like him? It is not that easy I'd say.

“It is good that we have him and we have not done that bad. A few weeks ago we spoke about how good we did without him.

“For him it was really nice (to win the awards). He was really touched by the fact his team-mates and the supporters selected him.

“It is a hard challenge to become our player of the season. You have Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana, Phil Coutinho, Gini Wijnaldum and Emre Can, who have all played their parts.

“It shows a lot of things are not that bad, even if not everything is how we wanted.”

Last weekend's dour stalemate with Southampton felt at the time like a damaging blow to the Reds' top-four hopes but, crucially, they remain masters of their own destiny.

Arsenal cranked up the pressure with their victory over Saints in midweek – Arsene Wenger's men climbing to fifth and within four points of Liverpool with a game in hand.

However, if Klopp's men win at West Ham on Sunday and beat Middlesbrough at home on the final weekend then the Reds will be back among Europe's elite.

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“This is a little bit our situation,” Klopp said.

“We think we have to win all the time because the rest win. The rest do not win all the time but we always feel under pressure.

“Yes, we were a bit stiff in the Southampton game. We were not as fluid as we could be, but we had our moments. We could have played the game better, but it could have been worse.

“A week ago we thought we had to win all three. Now we think a draw and a win could be enough. It all depends. That is the situation so let’s play football and feel the opportunity together.

“All the other teams have to play tough games too and no-one wins all of them. Now we have to win ours and then everything will be fine.

“Everything is still in our hands. Let’s go for it.”