LIVERPOOL host Chelsea in a massive six-pointer in the race for a Premier League top-four spot tonight.
The Blues sit one point and one place above the injury-stricken Reds in fifth and sixth respectively.
How Klopp and Tuchel compare ahead of Liverpool vs Chelsea
And in what could be a tense affair, it could all come down to which manager gets their tactics right.
Jurgen Klopp, 53, and Thomas Tuchel, 47, will do battle in what is somewhat-crudely being dubbed ‘Master vs Apprentice’.
The two have played against each other 14 times dating back to their time together in Germany, with Klopp winning NINE of their 14 encounters, losing just twice.
Most-recently, Klopp’s Liverpool faced Tuchel’s PSG in the 2018-19 group stage, with the bosses winning one game apiece.
Eerily, the two German bosses have followed a similar career path, with Tuchel just a few years behind.
Both got their managerial break at Mainz – with Tuchel also running the show at Augsburg’s second XI.
Klopp and Tuchel both then moved to Borussia Dortmund.
After starring at the Bundesliga club, the two bosses were then lured away by European giants.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Klopp and Tuchel have somewhat-crudely been dubbed ‘Master’ and ‘Apprentice’Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Klopp, of course, took over at Liverpool replacing Brendan Rodgers, while Tuchel succeeded Unai Emery at Paris Saint-Germain.
Tuchel recently took over from Frank Lampard at Chelsea having been harshly sacked by PSG.
And the Blues boss is hardly thrilled to compared to Klopp.
Tuchel claimed: “It’s nice to be compared, but it’s not nice because it does not tell the truth.
“We are not half as close as everybody thinks. It was not like I joined the academy of Mainz, and Jurgen was there as a head coach – that never happened.”
Klopp served as Mainz boss between 2001 and 2008, while Tuchel took over for five years between 2009 and 2014.
The now-Liverpool boss spent seven years at Dortmund between 2008 and 2015 before heading to Anfield.
The current Chelsea chief succeeded Klopp, joining in 2015 and leaving in 2017, before heading to PSG a year later.
Klopp and Tuchel’s career path has been eerily similar – but who’s on top?Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Klopp has taken charge of nearly TWICE as many matches as a football manager too, with 889 games under his belt to Tuchel’s 461.
Tuchel boasts the better win record at 56.6 per cent to 52.3 per cent – however, his stint at PSG (74.8 per cent) somewhat boosted his stats.
Aside from that though, Klopp is firmly in the lead in head-to-head scenarios.
Klopp has won three Big Five league titles with one Premier League crown and two Bundesliga titles, while Tuchel has won just two (both Ligue 1).
The Liverpool boss has also won the Champions League, unlike his rival.
In all, Klopp has nine career trophies compared to Tuchel’s seven – with the latter winning all but one (the DFB-Pokal) in the French capital.
All that goes out the window tonight though as the two go head-to-head knowing three points will be a huge step towards securing a Champions League spot for next season.
But who will come out on top? The ‘Master’ or the ‘Apprentice’?
Liverpool vs Chelsea – Live stream, TV channel and kick-off time for Premier League showdown at Anfield
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
