Arne Slot believes Nottingham Forest are in the Premier League title race and faces another tough test when they take on Liverpool at the City Ground tomorrow night.
Forest have defied pre-season predictions of a relegation battle with a wonderful run of form that sees them sit third in the table – six points behind leaders Liverpool who have played a game more.
They have won six league games in a row and a seventh would see them edge closer to the Merseysiders.
Slott said: “I’ve always said that you can best judge the standings halfway through the season. That moment is here now. If Forest are up there with us, Arsenal and Chelsea, then they are definitely a team in competition with us and the rest.
“If you look at the way they play and the results, then it’s deserved. It will be a very difficult challenge for us to get a result.”
🗣️ “They deserve to be treated like this!”
Arne Slot comments on whether he believes Nottingham Forest are title contenders 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gGii5eU8gI
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 13, 2025
Defeat at Anfield is not a big shock – Slot
Forest are the only team to beat Liverpool in the Championship this season, having won 1-0 at Anfield in September.
“They have already shown in retrospect how good a team they are,” he added. “When Liverpool lose a home game, it’s something you don’t expect. It was hard for us to take the loss that day. Now, when I look back and see where they are in the league, it’s not as shocking a result as I thought at the time.
“They had a good game plan and I expect their wingers, who played so well, will be in the starting 11 tomorrow.”
After handing game time to some of the club’s fringe players in the weekend’s FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley, Slott will recall the big players for the clash with Forest.
However, defender Joe Gomez remains sidelined with injury, while forward Darwin Nunez is suspended.
Kudos to Nuna
Liverpool can expect to have most of the possession tomorrow night with Nuno Espirito Santo setting up Forest to counter-attack, a style that has reaped its rewards this season.
Slott said: “They have a hard-working team without the ball and they can keep the ball as well. Chris Wood is a very good example of this.
“They scored a lot and threatened on the counter-attack, but they also have quality when they want to play with the ball.
“Nuno has done a great job of implementing a style of play that suits the players.
“They are a team that hardly concedes goals. They don’t take many risks in their build-up game so when they lose the ball they have a lot of players behind the ball and defend with 11 men.”
