Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said his side will give Liverpool the respect they deserve ahead of their visit to the City Ground.
The Reds have a six-point lead over the Tricky Trees, but that gap could be reduced to three points with a win at home against Arne Sloat's men.
Forest remain the only team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League this season, winning 1-0 at Anfield in September.
Ahead of their second meeting of the season, Slott had no hesitation in labeling Nuno's men as title contenders, but the former Tottenham boss has chosen to ignore the hype and is focusing on one game at a time.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's match, he said: “We have to play games. We are here to compete against all teams and I think we are doing well, but nothing has changed in our approach, which remains the same.
“We know what we can do and how we want to do things. We know each other, our strengths and weaknesses. So let's play the game.
“I don't know but we try as much as possible to ignore what is around us. We never change. It's the way we see things, the way we see the competition. I would say that's the way we see life. It's day by day, we focus on Our Tasks Tomorrow is another difficult task.
🗣️ “We know we can count on them.”
Nuno for your support before tomorrow. ❤️
– Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025
“Salah, Diaz, Jacopo, McAllister, Gravenbrech, Van Dijk, Konate, Trent… Quality everywhere. Great team. They have shown not only in the Premier League but in Europe how good they are. It's about realizing that and facing the game with respect.” “It is necessary to play against Liverpool.”
Forest have proven to be the closest title challengers outside the traditional top six since Leicester's famous victory in 2016.
While the Foxes went on to lift the trophy that season, there is no doubt that Nuno's men faced a more difficult task with Liverpool and Arsenal.
When asked for an answer to his aspirations this season, the Forest boss again sidestepped the question.
He added: “It's not about the match, it's about the season and our strengths and weaknesses. It's about realizing what we can do, what we can do and what we can do really well. We have to repeat and then take care of the weaknesses that we have and the things that we have to develop.”
“But the basic principle of our approach is always the same. What we want is to eventually become one day. We want to sit down and say now that we are a strong, compact team that does not give too much to our opponents, that is difficult to break down and at the same time we have quality at the local level. The ball and the speed in Attack.
“All of these things are ideal. We are still chasing and working on that.
Looking forward to Liverpool. 💪 pic.twitter.com/zTyFBwaUBi
– Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025
“I see a group of players who are really committed to doing things well. What could happen in the future? I don't know. The proof is that we have done it before, we have started competing well.
“I think we get better through competition. I really think that players, the more time they spend together, the better they can play together, the more they will grow in knowing each other and get better.”
“I see a good group of people, more so than the players. A group of people who want to do things together. That's important, the bonding and teamwork, that's what I really appreciate.”
