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Eric Peterson gets in touch: “I wouldn’t mind Wayne Rooney pulling on an old Everton kit and getting on some podcast to remind Arne Slot, “Easy there, sport. You say that the only thing you and Jurgen Klopp have in common is that you both won the league. That’s not true. You both won the league with Jurgen’s team. Whether you can build a champion of your own is a different question.”
Arne Slot just spoke to Sky, starting with Dominik Szoboszlai at full-back: “He needs to be because that’s what we need. We have our issues, especially in defence. Missing our 2 fullbacks, but Dominic has done that job really well. Last week, Curtis Jones, did his job really well. So that’s the good thing about midfielders, they are usually able to play in more positions than only in the midfields.
“A little bit of a different challenge. because a manager head coach has impact on playing style, but in the end, they’re still the same players. And I think they have a lot of quality players.
“Sometimes games can be equal on set pieces and then other parts of the game are also important. But as I said so many times, it’s very, very, very hard to win a game of football if you concede more set-pieces than you score. So that’s why it just has always been an important part of the game. But that is even increased even more this season.”
Matt Dony gets in touch: “I hope Neco Williams has a great game, and all Liverpool’s goals(!) come down the other flank. I really thought he’d be the successor to TAA, and he’d be a superstar for Wales. He’s obviously very good, can be a really lovely footballer to watch, but just never quite became what we were hoping. The difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’ is such a fine line in so many ways, but a yawning chasm in others.”
Vitor Pereira is currently sat on his own in the Forest dugout but spoke to Sky Sports, starting with that big win at Fenerbahce: “It was special mentally. The team was there in the first minute. This is the squad we need, mentally and tactically. And this is what we need today.
“We need to be organised when we are defending, we need to be committed with the team. We need the spirit to run, win duels and when we have the ball, it’s about quality and talent. Expressing themselves. I try to give them confidence to do that. We cannot face a game thinking about the position in the table.
“In my opinion, we need to do our best, be ourselves because I don’t want a team that plays in a way, then changes a way to play. I want a team with identity, trusts themselves and have confidence in the way we are working to play.”
For Forest, an unchanged team from Fenerbahce, while for Liverpool, two changes from Brighton in the FA Cup, Ryan Gravenberch in for Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike in for Federico Chiesa. That looks like Szoboszlai at right-back, with Gravenberch as midfield anchor.
The teams
Nottingham Forest: Ortega, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus. Subs: Gunn, Morato, Ndoye, Dominguez, Lucca, Yates, Jair Cunha, McAtee, Bakwa.
Liverpool: Alisson, Szoboszlai, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike. Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Nyoni, Ramsay, Morrison, Ngumoha.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Arne Slot was in punchy mood in his Friday press conference.
And it went well for Pereira back at Fenerbahce.
I was at Vitor Pereira’s unveiling earlier this week. He spoke well, I thought.
Preamble
All change at Forest – again – with Vitor Pereira the third new manager to be shown off to the City Ground this season. His reign started well in midweek with a good Europa League win. Now for Liverpool, on the revival path though rueing defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City. They’re in a serious race for the top four/five while Forest stare down the relegation battle. Plenty to play for, in a fixture of rich history.
