Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that the next year would be intense for players coming back from the World Cup with the German preparing his side for their trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on December 26.

Liverpool are in sixth place in the league standings after a disappointing start to the season and face a Villa side who have moved up to 12th after the appointment of Unai Emery as manager in October.

"For the players who played in the World Cup, the whole year will be incredibly intense," Klopp told reporters on Friday following his side's 3-2 fourth-round League Cup loss at Manchester City the previous evening.

"That's really, really, really tough. We will have to see how we deal with that, and we will be really careful with the information we get," he added.

"That makes planning really difficult for the next game because we were 100 percent clear what we want to do against City and then you have to change in the last second pretty much. That's not cool but it's the situation and that might happen against Villa as well so we need to be flexible."

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he is aware that his club's excessive spending in the close season transfer window means there is pressure to secure a top-four finish this term.

United spent more than £200 million ($240.92 million) to bring in Brazilian duo Antony and Casemiro from Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid respectively, Argentine World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez and Dutch full back Tyrell Malacia ahead of the current campaign.

Ten Hag, who took over as coach from Ralf Rangnick in April, has revamped a squad looking to turn things around after their worst-ever Premier League points haul last term. United are fifth in the current standings, three points off the top four.

"I accept how it is, I accept that pressure," Ten Hag said at a news conference. "But also for the manager of Chelsea and of Newcastle United, those clubs who have invested a lot in their squad. It's big pressure for all of us to get into the top four. We want to be in the top four and fighting for trophies that's our aim."

Chelsea manager Graham Potter said his side were suffering before the Premier League paused for the World Cup, but that the break can enable the players to have the reset they need.

After making an impressive start to life as Chelsea manager having succeeded Thomas Tuchel in September, Potter's side have lost five of their last six in all competitions, including their last three league games.

"I think you have to go through moments sometimes – if you are honest, we were suffering a little bit before the break in terms of the results weren't what we wanted, performances weren't so good either," Potter told a news conference on Friday.

"Sometimes as a team you go through these periods. We went through one there and I could offer lots of explanations as to why but sometimes you have to accept they happen and you have to get through them and a break can help. Everyone can come back and reset and all the learning that has happened in that really intense period, you can consolidate and say 'how do we go forward' and that's been really beneficial."

Potter's players who did take part in the World Cup have been given an extended break ahead of the Premier League's return, putting the Chelsea boss in unchartered territory.

"We've used the time as best as we can – in the first few days, we had four players to work with so that brings its problems," Potter said.

"It's not easy to get the balance right (with returning players). We're all learning because it's never happened before," he added.

"You have to constantly evaluate and assess the players because you might get two or three months down the line and think you need to do something to refresh – because we don't know the long-term effects of the World Cup. We're confident we can prepare normally for the games coming up."

(With input from agencies)