Jurgen Klopp has said Manchester United ‘might be in a better situation’ than his Liverpool team ahead of their pre-season opener in Thailand.

The English titans will clash at the Rajamangala National Stadium on Tuesday as they begin their pre-season campaigns with a headline fixture.

United are coming off their worst-ever Premier League campaign, while Klopp’s Reds won two domestic cups and lost out on the title by a single point.

It marks a stark contrast between the two rivals from the start of the Premier League era, and Klopp couldn’t resist a dig at how the mighty have fallen.

Responding to a rapturous reception received by himself, Jordan Henderson and James Milner, the German said: “First question I have, did it look like this yesterday when Manchester was here as well?

“Thank you very much for the really warm welcome we received already. It’s really nice. It’s my first proper time in Thailand and I’ve heard so many good things about it.

“We look forward to the game obviously, and to have some time to spend in the city. We are here for all of you and we hope we can have a good time together, and tie the knot between us and our supporters here in Thailand a little bit more.”

Speaking about the match itself, Klopp said Liverpool and United don’t do friendlies, but suggested his rivals may have an edge.

Liverpool have seen a big outgoing in the shape of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich this summer but replaced him with record signing Darwin Nunez, who was a United target.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils have only landed one target under new manager Erik ten Hag in the shape of Tyrell Malacia, and are having to deal with an ongoing transfer saga revolving around Cristiano Ronaldo.

Klopp, though, believes the momentum could be with United ahead of their opening clash.

“Manchester United. New manager. Trained a little bit longer than us. Not sure, but might be in a better situation in the moment,” he said. 

We see it as an important test because it’s against United – and we don’t play friendlies!

“Usually football matches are the most important thing for us. But in this specific case it’s really more for the people.

“We have 37 players – all generations here – and we have to use all of them. 

“The boys who were on international duty in the summer only arrived today pretty much. They cannot play too long but we will try to give them a few minutes as well.”