Wolves are taking on Liverpool in the Premier League today and Arne Slot has given his thoughts about the contest.
Wolves are seeking to build on the positive performances and results against Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers, but today will be a stern test.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League table right now, and Anfield is a notoriously difficult place to play.
But there’s optimism at Wolves right now, and Vitor Pereira believes his players can get something today.
Ahead of this game, Pereira said he felt he has ‘the best players in the country’ at Wolves, in a message that is bound to increase confidence.
Arne Slot will be on the touchline against Wolves, despite picking up a red card against Everton – and the Dutchman will be glad to do battle with Pereira for the first time.
Arne Slot shares his opinion of Wolves and sends message to Vitor Pereira
Slot has been looking ahead to today’s game, and is wary of the threat posed by Wolves.
He has been quite complimentary about Wanderers in his programme notes for today’s game, remembering the previous encounter between the two sides at Molineux.
He always felt Wolves were in a bit of a false position, and reckons his initial thoughts were right given the improvements Wanderers have recently made.
Wolves lost that game 2-1, but Slot said (via liverpoolfc.com): “Wolves are a team who gave us a very testing afternoon when we met at Molineux earlier this season.
“The first 15 to 20 minutes in particular was a challenging period because they made it difficult for us to control the game and we had to show a lot of patience and work really hard to come away with a positive result.
“I think the way that game went surprised some people because we went into it on top of the Premier League with Wolves at the bottom, but I said at the time that they were clearly in a false position and that the quality they had meant they would not stay there.
“This has turned out to be right with Wolves now out of the relegation zone having picked up a very impressive victory against Aston Villa recently. That result speaks for itself and it is a clear indication that we should expect nothing but another tough game this afternoon.”
Pereira has previously praised Slot as an ‘artist’ of a manager, and it seems the respect is very much mutual, with Slot saying of the Portuguese: “I would like to welcome Vitor Pereira and the staff, players and supporters of Wolves to Anfield. Vitor may be a fairly new manager to the Premier League having replaced Gary O’Neil less than two months ago but he has incredible experience having worked in a number of leagues over the last 20 years.
Wolves need their big-hitters to turn up vs Liverpool
It will be a tall order for Wolves to beat Liverpool or even draw. The Reds have been superb in all departments this season.
But we have seen Wolves turn it on against the top teams in this division, and if the best players all bring their A-games there will be a chance.
Matheus Cunha was praised by Slot ahead of the game, and hopefully, the Brazilian will be bang at it today.
Rayan Ait-Nouri could also be key against Liverpool, having enjoyed some good battles with Mo Salah in this fixture.