Arne Slot said his Liverpool players are “ready for another battle” as they prepare to take on Everton in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday.
The Premier League leaders have struggled to win at the home of their neighbours in recent years, with nine of the past 12 games there ending in draws.
Everton, much improved under returning manager David Moyes, will be leaving their historic home at the end of this season to play in their new 52,888-capacity Bramley-Moore Dock stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront.
Slot, preparing for his first and last derby at Goodison, believes the emotion of the occasion on Wednesday will add to Liverpool’s challenge.
“It’s probably going to be a fantastic atmosphere and that’s never easy to play against because every single time they cross the half-way line or they get a corner kick or whatever happens, the fans will cheer for that,” he said on Tuesday.
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“And then you have to be mentally really strong as an away team to resist all that complete atmosphere and you still have to be focused on what you have to do, defending the corner kick, defending the set-piece, and when you have the ball, be as calm as you can in this fantastic atmosphere.
He added, “I assume our players are ready for another battle tomorrow, for the simple reason that they’ve been ready for the whole season.”
The Dutchman, in his first season at Anfield, said his players would have to keep a “cool head but not cool legs” against an Everton team who have won their past three Premier League matches to ease relegation fears.
“Every time you play against a team that wants to fight with you, and that’s almost every time we play against any opponent, but maybe this one even more, you have to be ready for that,” said Slot.
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“So you have to run just as much, you have to be just as intense in tackles. Not going across the line, but be cool enough to play a good and firm tackle. And that’s where it starts and then nine out of 10 times, after 10, 15, 20 minutes, a game settles down a bit, and then you can start to think even more about playing football.”
Liverpool are six points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand but their push for an unprecedented quadruple was ended by defeat at Championship strugglers Plymouth in the FA Cup on Sunday.
“There was a wise man that once said to me ‘Nothing good comes from losing a football game’, and I completely agree,” said Slot.
The Liverpool boss, who made wholesale changes for the match, described the loss as “unacceptable”.
“We have to show a different side of us tomorrow because it wasn’t only the result, the performance was far from what Liverpool standards are as well,” he said.
Trent Alexander-Arnold could return from injury against Everton but Liverpool will definitely be without fellow defender Joe Gomez.
AFP
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