The Liverpool boss saw his side cruise past Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday night ahead of their game with Eddie Howe's men on Saturday night
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Liverpool FC and Qarabag FK at Anfield on January 28, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot knows his side will be in for a much sterner test when Newcastle United come to Anfield on Saturday evening, after their comfortable 6-0 Champions League victory over Qarabag.
The result means the Reds progress automatically to the last 16, while United's 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in France means they will face a two-legged play-off - potentially against Qarabag - to join them.
Newcastle will play either the Azerbaijani side of French outfit Monaco in the first knockout stage, with a last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Chelsea awaiting the victors, with the draw made in Switzerland on Friday.
However, Eddie Howe and Co will be fully focused on the next challenge which lies ahead, namely Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday evening.
United missed the opportunity to move ahead of the Reds when they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa on Sunday, but the performance in France has lifted morale considerably on Tyneside.
Slot knows Liverpool will have to raise their levels against Newcastle this weekend, and dropped a Champions League hint for the Magpies, should they be drawn against Qarabag.
"It is what you want if you start the Champions League season, you want to finish top eight because that helps because you skip a round so we're happy that we are going straight away to the last 16," he said.
"There was an obvious improvement (from the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth) but with all respect for the team we faced tonight I expect Newcastle to be a stronger side than Qarabag.
"If we can improve in both boxes it's going to be very hard for any team to play against us, but showing that once is not enough, we have to show this from now on constantly."
Alexis Mac Allister (2), Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah - his first for the club since November 1 - and Federico Chiesa were all on target for Liverpool in midweek, but Slot saw defender Jeremie Frimpong limp out of the game.
He is expected to miss Saturday's game with Newcastle, and with Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez already out, it's a familiar problem for Slot on the right side of his backline.
"Today has shown again that sometimes things are a bit more complicated than people think," Slott added. "Jeremie is a great example.
"As a club we always make decisions, as we at least think smart decisions, so we not only look at the short term we also look at the longer term, that's why we sign very good players but young ones that can still develop.
"It always depends on are there players available that we think can help us, and if they are, can we afford them and can they also be helpful for the longer-term future because our players will come back from injury as well.
"What we don't want to have is a squad where we have four right-backs and 12 midfielders and three or four number nines. That's not how it works over here so we have to do the smart things for the near future, but also for the longer future.
"Let's first see how Jeremie is, maybe he's not able to play Saturday, but maybe he's able to play it one or two days later and we now go into a schedule with one game a week so that will usually mean less injuries, but you're never sure."
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