Manchester United 'much better than table shows', says Liverpool boss Arne Slot ahead of Premier League showdown
Updated 03/01/2025 at 19:26 GMT
Arne Slot is wary of the threat Manchester United will pose at Anfield despite their dismal run of form in recent weeks. The Red Devils head into Sunday's match sitting a mere seven points clear of the bottom three, with relegation becoming an increasing threat with each passing week. However, Slot is confident that Ruben Amorim will have United clicking into gear sooner rather than later.
Slot confirms 'fully committed' Alexander-Arnold will play against Man Utd at the weekend
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Arne Slot believes Manchester United are in a false position in the Premier League and is backing Ruben Amorin to propel his side up the table.
The table-topping Reds head into Sunday's match 23 points clear of United, who sit 14th in the Premier League table.
Slot was quizzed about the prospect of resting some of his star players ahead of a game which his side go into as overwhelming favourites to claim all three points.
Liverpool have a run of eight games in January, but Slot dismissed the prospect of shuffling his pack for a game against one of their fiercest rivals.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Slot said: "No. Of course not.
"For me, they have much better players than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It might take a while for [United manager] Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players but they are much better than the league table shows."
Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim has endured a tough start to life in the Old Trafford hotseat having lost six of his first 11 games in charge.
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Amorim confirms ill Rashford set to miss Liverpool clash, says team is ‘starved of leaders’
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However, Slot is backing the Portuguese to turn things around as United look to climb the table.
"Every manager sympathises with every other manager," he explained.
"We all know how much pressure this job brings. He's done so well at Sporting and I think he has a good squad of players, so he will eventually bring the best out of them."
Much of the recent talk at Anfield has concerned matters off the pitch, specifically the futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
Slot heaped praise on all three and praised Alexander-Arnold’s attitude amid the ongoing speculation linking the England international with a move to Real Madrid.
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"I can tell you he's playing on Sunday and hopefully brings the same performance he's been bringing in the last half a year," he added.
"He played an incredible game against West Ham. I see him training hard every day.
"If I only look at my own team, Virgil also has an outstanding season but he doesn't have the numbers because he is a defender.
"The numbers Mo has speak for themselves. If you simply look at the numbers and the way he's playing, he's definitely a great, great player."
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The Reds will be without Joe Gomez for United's visit to Anfield, but Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate are back in training.
He continued: "Joe is not in a good place when it comes to his injury, he's out for a few weeks.
"Conor and Ibou will train with us today for the first time. They worked hard to come back for the team. The next step is how they'll handle team sessions."
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