Arne Slot is eagerly looking forward to a “very interesting game” as his Liverpool side prepares to face Chelsea on Sunday.
The Reds return from the international break with a late kick-off at Anfield against Enzo Maresca’s Blues, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League standings.
Liverpool lead the table after their 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace before the break, while Chelsea come off a disappointing 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
With both teams vying for crucial points, fans can expect an exciting clash at Anfield.
Slot said: “If you judge your team on only a week, that would not be fair.
“So, I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them.
“Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games.
“That is normal in everybody’s season and we know how difficult it is.
“We’ve seen that ourselves two years ago when we played Champions League, we’ve seen this last season with Manchester United, and the only ones who showed that they can perform [in the] Champions League and in the league are [Manchester] City and Arsenal in the last two seasons.
“So, now it’s up to us. But I don’t think it’s fair to judge us after a week – even though if we do really well it wouldn’t be fair. But the best way to judge us is in four weeks.
“If you look at the league table, it is. I think Manchester United is a very good team, a top club in England that has spent a lot of money to even make the team better again.
“Same for Chelsea in this season. Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent.
“But it’s not always about the league table. Sometimes it’s about the form of the day, it’s about their game plan.
“We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think.
“But it is a challenge, that’s for sure.
The Dutchman added: “Very important. If you want to achieve something in this season, you need to be defensively really stable.
“We’ve been that until now.
“Again, [the] fixture list we have to take into account as well.
“And now we face even better players because I agree with you that Chelsea, like Man United, has a lot, a lot, a lot of great individuals who we have to try to manage, to control.
“That’s not what one player does, that’s what we have to do as a team.
“But we must not forget to create our own chances as well, because if you want to win you need to score as well.
“Fortunately and the good thing for us is that we have players that can score goals.
“[I’m] looking forward to a very interesting game on Sunday.”
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