Jurgen Klopp insists that he will not instruct Liverpool’s players to provoke an incendiary reaction from Diego Costa.
The Spain international renew will his often tempestuous relationship with the Reds during their clash with Chelsea on Friday night.
Two seasons ago Costa was retrospectively banned for three games after stamping on Emre Can during the League Cup semi-final between the sides.
An altercation with Jordan Henderson in the first leg of that tie was also followed by regular skirmishes with former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel.
But Klopp has dismissed suggestions that his side will not head into the Stamford Bridge showdown with malice aforethought.
He said: “It is not part of preparation. I never said in my life to a team ‘he’s always close to a red card do whatever you can so he gets it’.
“Antonio (Conte) has already created a good relationship with him, so he is completely different.
“He is aggressive but I didn’t see until now challenges where you could say it should have been a red card. I thought against Swansea it was more a problem for the two defenders.
“Being aggressive is important against him. There will be hard challenges, but it is not about having a one-on-one fight the whole 90 minutes and then saying, ‘I took him out of the game’.
“There are a lot more things to do than think about Diego Costa. He is world class. If other supporters love you it’s not a good sign.
“He is a real warrior on the pitch. He uses his body all the time – that is his quality – he was nearly unstoppable against Swansea.
“He could have been the man-of-the-match. He is strong, no doubt.”