Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admitted that he’s expecting a “very difficult challenge” against Nottingham Forest ahead of their crucial Premier League clash at the City Ground on Tuesday, Soccernet.football reports.

This season’s darkhorses currently sit 3rd on the Premier League table, level on points with second-placed Arsenal. They are six points behind league leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand over their rivals.

Forest remain the only team to have defeated the Reds in the league this season, claiming a 1-0 victory at Anfield in September courtesy of a second-half strike from Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Heading into this fixture, Forest are on an impressive seven-match winning streak across all competitions, conceding just once during that period. According to Slot, their excellent form and league position are no coincidence.

“I have always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season. They are up there with the rest so they are definitely a team in competition with us and the others,” the Reds boss said at his pre-match press conference as per Reuters.

“If you look at the way they play and their results, then it is deserved. It is going to be a very difficult challenge for us to get a result.

“They have already showed in retrospect how good a team they are. When Liverpool lose a home game it’s something you don’t expect.

“For us to lose on that day was hard to take. Now, looking back and seeing where they are in the league, it is not such a shock as it felt then.

“They had a good game plan and I expect their wingers, who have done so well, to be in their starting XI tomorrow.”

Liverpool will be looking to avenge that narrow loss at Anfield earlier in the season and pull further away from the chasing pack while Forest will be relishing the opportunity to do the double over the Reds and potentially close the gap at the summit.

It promises to be an enthralling encounter at City Ground.

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