Liverpool manager Arne Slot has acknowledged that Nottingham Forest “deserve” to be seen as Premier League title contenders.
As Liverpool prepare to visit the City Ground on Tuesday night, they hold a six-point lead over Forest with a game in hand. However, a victory for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team would significantly increase the pressure on the Reds.
Forest surprised Liverpool back in September with a 1-0 win at Anfield, which remains Slot’s only league defeat with the Merseyside club. At the time, the result was considered a major upset. ..Continue Reading
But now, with Forest performing exceptionally well in the league, that victory looks less surprising as weeks go by.
This is why Slot is convinced that the East Midlands club can compete for the title.
He said: “I have always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season and that moment is there now so if Forest is up there with us, Arsenal, Chelsea, [Manchester] City and all the others they are definitely 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 look at their results. It is going to be a very difficult challenge tomorrow to get a result.”
Slot was taken aback by the September loss when Callum Hudson-Odoi netted a winner in the 72nd minute. However, Forest enters this rematch riding high on the momentum of six consecutive league victories.
“They already showed in retrospect how good of a team they are, leading up to that game I think they had two draws and one win,” said the Dutchman.
“In general every time Liverpool loses a home game that is something we don’t expect. In that moment of time I also saw a stat that Virgil [van Dijk] played 100 home games for Liverpool and only lost once.
“For us to lose on that day was, for me, hard to take. Now looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league it has not been such a shock result as I thought it was back then.
“They had a very good gameplan, they changed the wingers they normally played and brought them in at the end and they made a difference, although I expect their wingers who have done so well to be in the starting XI tomorrow. I think he changed back then and it worked really well during that game.”
Nottingham Forest shook Liverpool’s stronghold on English football in 1978 by clinching the First Division title. They further proved their continental prowess by winning consecutive European Cups in 1979 and 1980.
This success followed Liverpool’s European triumphs in 1977 and 1978, with the Reds reclaiming the title in 1980. Given that Forest has invested over £200 million since their Premier League return, Slot is not surprised to see them performing so well in the league.
He added: “I did know Forest was a big force in English football for a long period of time but that has been quite a long time ago. But they are doing really good and Nuno is doing an incredible job. But if you look at the amount of money they spent it is not a complete surprise that they do well this season.”
