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Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Liverpool are prepared to splash the cash in the summer transfer window to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Manchester clubs in pursuit of the title, and he is even prepared to take a page out of his competitors' book on the field by admitting his team are prepared to 'park the bus' against United on Saturday.  

The Reds have been playing catch-up with their Manchester counterparts for the entirety of the season, both in results and transfer market spending. 

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With City only growing stronger and United always capable of winning ugly, Klopp is aware that his side need to spend big to accelerate their progress by adding a goalkeeper, midfielder and striker to their ranks - as per the Daily Mail.

"This club will do what we have to do; the owners are ready for that but it doesn’t mean we only spend in this category. When the player is the right player it is not important how expensive he was. 

"He needs to fit in the team, that’s why we paid the price. It has to be right. You can’t say you want a player, they give you a number and you say: 'Right we will pay that!' That’s not how it should work.

"Probably a few teams have players and other clubs will want to buy them. But we all need to stay kind of serious. If the player is the right player, this club will pay big money and let the group grow. If it’s not the right player, the value of the player doesn’t matter."

Although Liverpool appear to be edging ever closer to becoming genuine title challengers next season, the immediate battle comes in the form of a second place finish and after three consecutive draws between the two sides - which includes two scoreless games - Klopp hinted that a defensive approach deployed by Jose Mourinho would not be accepted at Liverpool.

However, the German conceded that there will be moments in the clash on Saturday where his team will be forced to defend with every player behind the ball to earn the desired result, and he borrowed the phrase widely used to describe Mourinho's tactics - "parking the bus."

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"This United team has a specific way of playing football - that's all. We have to defend there with all we have and not gambling and thinking we are flying when playing Man Utd. Nobody flies. They are too strong, physically too strong, tactically too strong," Klopp said, via ESPN

"It's not a battle of systems or philosophies. It's two very good football teams who will face each other. 

"When United will attack, I hope all my players are involved in defending, to be honest. And if somebody then says that was parking the bus in that moment then we park the bus -- I have no problem with that.

"Over 95, 97 minutes, of course, we want to bring our football on the pitch as well and that's difficult to cope with as well to deal with. That's the plan for this game.

"In this specific game, I have absolutely no problem with defending. I know how the situation is at the moment and what people are saying. They play a specific kind of football, we play a specific kind of football -- and everybody makes a big thing of it. 

"But it's all about winning and there are different ways to win football games."