David Wagner admitted he did not expect to be facing "best friend" Jurgen Klopp so soon in the Premier League as high-flying Huddersfield Town make the trip to Liverpool.
It will be master against apprentice when Liverpool manager Klopp welcomes Wagner's Huddersfield to Anfield on Saturday – the first competitive meeting between the two Germans.
Wagner and Klopp first met as players at second-tier German side Mainz in 1991, forming a bond that has lasted until this day, and the former is relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the Liverpool boss.
"It is extraordinary because he is my best friend," said Wagner via the Telegraph .
"But the real extraordinary story is that Huddersfield are playing Liverpool in the Premier League."
Wagner was appointed Huddersfield manager in 2015 and by May this year, the 46-year-old guided the Yorkshire outfit win promotion to the Premier League for the first time.
He now takes his Huddersfield side to Merseyside on the back of a stunning 2-1 victory over Manchester United last week, which moved them within a point of ninth-placed Liverpool.
"Did I think I would play him in the Premier League two years after arriving here? It is at least 10 years sooner than I ever dared dream," Wagner continued.
On Klopp and Liverpool, Wagner said he knows what to expect, adding: "For the first time, my very good analysis team came to me and I tell them, 'Don't tell me, I know'.
"It makes it easier to play them because I don't have to invest too much time in analysis, I know all I need to know about them and how he will set them up."
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