Jurgen Klopp admits the stage is set for a thrilling finale to Liverpool’s season as he told his players: “We have only finals from now on.”

The Reds boss knows that opportunity knocks for his in-form side as they look to secure a top-four Premier League finish and chase Champions League glory.

Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace kicks off a crunch 10 days with the Merseyside derby sandwiched between the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City.

“Of course we have had some time to think about this over the last two weeks, but it is pretty clear that we can only do it step by step,” Klopp said.

“We have to be 100% concentrated. We have only finals from now on, for both sides pretty much. We play Palace and it’s unbelievably important for both sides. City, then Everton, unbelievably important because it’s a derby.

“It’s interesting. You create the basis for the finish and the final third of the season. I think we are in a good position and we have to use it.”

Preparations for the game at Selhurst Park haven’t been ideal with Klopp losing Emre Can and Joe Gomez to injury. Liverpool have only had two training sessions since the international fixtures but having rotated his squad earlier in the campaign Klopp doesn’t believe that fatigue will damage their chances during the run-in.

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“We were in a good shape two weeks ago,” he said.

“I don’t want to be negative, but it’s always a challenge now with only two sessions together to do a lot of tactics and come on the same track again.

“They play completely different football when they are away and of course the players are influenced by that. But we are used to it and today we trained well before flying to London.

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“We are prepare and we are in a good position. Our influence wasn’t too big last season when we didn’t have players available through injury.

“I accept each kind of criticism but in a Premier League season you cannot train hard. You cannot do it because there are constantly games that you have to prepare for. You don’t prepare like the late 80s anymore when you let the players vomit on the pitch.

“The intensity of the games did cause us a few problems (last season). We didn’t play more intensive football but now we had the opportunity to change and rotate so we did it.

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“We still need luck that the players stay fit. In the next 10 days we have four games. It’s Palace and then bam, bam, bam – we need all the players for all the games. In both competitions we are really ambitious. The boys look good at the moment but that’s the job - bringing them to this situation as fresh as possible.”

Klopp must pick between James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to fill the void created by Can’s absence. With Gomez out, the Reds boss is considering handing a first appearance of the season to Nathaniel Clyne at right-back.

Clyne hasn’t played first-team football since last May due to a back injury but Klopp believes he could be crucial over the next six weeks.

The focus is on Crystal Palace NOT Manchester City says Klopp

“He is a top player, 100%, a top professional, a top player. Before his injury Clyney played nearly all the games,” Klopp added.

“When we speak about intensity, the only player who didn’t feel it was Clyney who was up and down all the time and always at a consistent level.

“If we had not the two options with Joe and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) then we would have missed him like crazy. It was absolutely okay for us as a team.

“You have to prepare for a situation like that but was it 100% clear at the start of the season that Trent would play the season he has played? No.

“Joe had injury problems since I was in so could he play consistently all the time from the beginning? Probably not.

“It was good for us that we could change these two boys in what is a very important position for us. They played a lot of games but a lot of good games. There were not many average games from Joe or Trent. They were always involved in a good way. Yes, we missed Clyney but because of the other options it was not that bad.

“We’ve tried to give Clyney as many games as possible after a long time out. I think he’s had three games now. It’s not perfect but it’s better than no game. It’s all okay now. You can see in training that everything is there again. We will use him for sure.”