Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expects his players to have their full focus on struggling Fulham on Sunday despite a top-of-the-table encounter against Tottenham on the horizon.
The Reds face a Cottagers team who have taken just seven points from 11 matches this season with two victories in their last 10 games in all competitions.
Klopp oversaw training before the trip to London, putting Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Robert Firmino and the other Liverpool stars through their paces.
Wednesday's visit to Anfield of Jose Mourinho's high-flying Tottenham is a much more enticing prospect but Klopp insists they will continue to take their title defence one match at a time.
"I hope none of our players will think about Tottenham when we are in Fulham, to be honest," he said.
"The situation is like it is at the top of the table, everywhere in the table pretty much, there is not a lot of distance in between. We know that and I don't have to tell the boys constantly.
"Fulham are a really good football-playing side and the performances they showed were not all rewarded with results.
"The fight for staying in the league is a tight one as well, so each point helps and they will go for everything.
"If we let them play, they will play and the more we let them play, the more we have to defend and the more you have to defend, the more you have to run."
Having run away with a first league title in 30 years last season, winning by a massive 18 points from back-to-back champions Manchester City, it is unlikely the scenario will be repeated this time around.
Seven points separate the top 10 heading into the latest round of matches, and with the challenges this compressed season have thrown up, Klopp does not expect such a comfortable time.
"I am not the most experienced guy who can tell you how it is when you have a big gap between you and other teams, but last year, for whatever reason, it was like this," he added.
"Before a game, it is exactly the same like always, you want to win this game because it is not that you think, 'oh, there is a gap of 20 points between us and them, so we might play at 60 or 70 per cent' - it is not like that.
"We felt under pressure from ourselves last year and that's the same now, it didn't change. You don't look at other teams, it is much too early in the season.
"You just create a basis for the rest of the year and that's what we are still in.
"Whichever situation is there outside us, we cannot change, so we are not focused on it so we just try to win the next game and that's difficult enough."
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
The%20specs
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.