Liverpool will face a tough test when the Reds travel to Nottingham Forest on January 14th to face a club that has been the surprise of the Premier League. They have been as high as second on the table and are currently in a tie for 2nd with Arsenal (40) points and they have won five Premier League games in a row.
What Does Slot Say?
Arne Slot knows that Nottingham Forest are in good form and that the match will be a tough challenge as outlined in his press conference.
“I've always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season. That moment is there now, so if Forest is then up there with us, with Arsenal, Chelsea and [Manchester] City and all the others then they definitely are a team that is in competition with us and with the other teams. They deserve to be treated like this if you look at the way they play and if you look at their results. It's going to be a very difficult challenge tomorrow to get a result. The playing style they have suits them really good. They have a hard-working team. Without the ball they work really hard. Chris Wood is a great example of that. But he's also a player that can hold the ball and they have very fast wingers and players in the midfield that can bring these wingers in promising positions, mostly in counter-attacks, but they are not only counter-attacks, that's definitely not true, they've scored and been a threat by counter-attacks a lot, but they can also bring the ball, if the ball is on the floor they hardly take the risk of building up from the goalkeeper. But if they bring the ball to the floor then you can see the quality they also have when they want to play. I think Nuno did a great job in implementing a style of play that suits the players very well.”
The Tricky Trees
As already alluded to, Nottingham Forest are in good form. In fact they are one of two teams to beat Liverpool at Anfield this season, so they are looking for a rare double over the Reds. Chris Wood is far and away the best goal-scorer this season with 12 and Morgan Gibbs-White is a distant second with 4 goals. Slot reflected on that loss to Nottingham Forest, saying it was a good indication of how good they are.
“Now looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league it's not been as such a shock result as I thought it was back then,” he said. “They had a very good game plan. [They] changed the wingers that normally played and brought them in at the end and they made a difference. Although I expect their wingers that have done so well to be in the starting XI tomorrow. That's something he changed back then and that worked really well for them during that game.”.
News & Notes
Darwin Nunez will be unavailable due to Yellow Card Accumulation. Joe Gomez will also be unavailable because of a hamstring injury. Nottingham Forest has been a stingy team defensively, allowing 19 goals in 20 games with 9 clean sheets. By comparison, Liverpool have 8 clean sheets on the season in 19 games. Nottingham Forest have two former Liverpool players on the team, including Neco Williams and Taiwo Awoniyi.
LFC Globe Verdict
Liverpool never lost a double (home and away to the same team) under Jürgen Klopp. Nottingham Forest have a chance to do that vs Arne Slot. Liverpool will have to be at their best if they want to win, but if they can secure all three points, it will have huge implications in the title race.
Where To Watch
Kickoff is set for 20:00 hours GMT from the City Ground and can be seen on TNT Sports. In the USA, the match will be shown on the USA Network. Canadian supporters can stream the action via Fubo.