Arne Slot labels Nottingham Forest contenders for Premier League title as Liverpool manager reflects on 'hard to take' Anfield defeat against surprise package

Slot's Liverpool are preparing to play Forest this weekend, and it has become an unlikely top-of-the-table clash. The Reds are six points clear of both Arsenal and Forest at the top of the Premier League, but Nuno Espirito Santo's side are the only team to beat them this season. Now, Slot has claimed they are legitimate title rivals.

Forest won 1-0 at Anfield in September. Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal of the game in the reverse fixture, and now Slot has reflected on a game he feels the Reds were unlucky to lose.

Slot told reporters: “I have always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season and that moment is there now so if Forest is up there with us, Arsenal, Chelsea City and all the others they are definitely a team that is in competition with us and with the other team.

"They deserve to be treated like this if you look at the way they play and look at their results. It is going to be a very difficult challenge tomorrow to get a result."

Reflecting on the fixture, he added: "I watched it back because I wanted to see what we did back then in terms of tactics and what we could do now. I assume, I'm not sure because I don't make the line-up for Forest, but back then it was a surprise for us that Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga were not playing but they are playing so well now it again would be a surprise if they don’t start.

"Back then they didn't start and played more midfielders in these positions. We have to wait and see. We are prepared for both but that we have to do better than that game, that is clear. They still have a similar playing style like we still have a similar playing style.

“They already showed in retrospect how good of a team they are, leading up to that game I think they had two draws and one win. In general every time Liverpool loses a home game that is something we don’t expect.

"In that moment of time I also saw a stat that Virgil played 100 home games for Liverpool and only lost once. For us to lose on that day was, for me, hard to take. Now looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league it has not been such a shock result as I thought it was back then.

"They had a very good gameplan, they changed the wingers they normally played and brought them in at the end and they made a difference, although I expect their wingers who have done so well to be in the starting XI tomorrow. I think he changed back then and it worked really well during that game."

Liverpool will hope to get some measure of revenge this week. For Forest, a win could set pulses racing amid the prospect of a wholly unexpected title challenge.