Arne Slot at Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Arne Slot is not writing off Pep Guardiola ahead of Liverpool vs Manchester City
Arne Slot has backed Pep Guardiola to turn things around at Manchester City despite the reigning Premier League champions going six games without a win.
Guardiola and City have won the Premier League in each of the last four seasons, with their 2022-23 triumph part of a Treble. They have work to do if they're to make it five on the spin, though, and defeat at Liverpool on Sunday would leave them 11 points adrift of Slot's men.
The reigning champions have lost each of their last three in the league, with the current run also including a Carabao Cup elimination by Tottenham and a 4-1 Champions League loss at Sporting CP. They looked set for a first win in a month when they opened up a 3-0 lead over Slot's former club Feyenoord on Tuesday, only for the Dutch side to snatch a draw.
They still sit second as they prepare to go to Anfield, though Liverpool are runaway leaders with 31 points from a possible 36. Slot's team also have 18 from 18 in Europe, but he was in no mood to write off his opposite number ahead of Sunday's meeting.
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"I don't think anyone in last eight or nine years or maybe even longer would have said City at home or away -- the word easy comes to mind," Slot told reporters at a press conference on Thursday. "I know everyone looks at their results but if you face them, and that is what we do, you analyse it.
"Against Brighton, they were 1-0 up, could have scored two or three and didn't and then got beat 2-1. Against Tottenham, they could have been after 20 minutes two or three goals up. Against Feyenoord, that has not happened many times. They were 3-0 up, completely dominated the game and it ended up 3-3.
"They are still a very, very, very good team and one of the reasons why I think Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world is he always comes up with solutions for his problems. His problem now might be that Rodri is out but we all know that he will come up with a solution and their run of form will go again. Hopefully it is after Sunday."
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Guardiola and Manchester City have gone six games without a win
City and Liverpool drew both league meetings last season. Trent Alexander-Arnold's equaliser earned the Reds a point at the Etihad Stadium in November 2023, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring the Reds' leveller at Anfield in March.
Mac Allister was also on target in Liverpool's most recent Champions League match, opening the scoring in a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid. Cody Gakpo scored the second, with both teams missing penalties in between.
"It was a phenomenal atmosphere, we know these Champions League nights under the lights, they [the fans] always step up, they always produce, and we’re going to need that again on Sunday," Reds defender Andy Robertson said after the midweek win. "We need it in every single game, that’s the thing, but we know they react off us so it’s up to us to set that tone to create that atmosphere and if we do that then hopefully we can have another special night."
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