Liverpool and Fulham meet at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, with Andoni Iraola’s side looking to build on their 2-0 win over Ipswich Town.
Fulham, meanwhile, have lost all three of their Premier League games this season, most recently suffering a 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace.
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Alvaro Arbeloa has dismissed reports of unrest within the Fulham squad, despite reports that Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe removed Fulham-related content from their Instagram accounts. Kevin also posted a cryptic social media message saying: “No speak, no hear, no see.”
Arbeloa admitted he expects players who have not featured under him to be unhappy but insists there is no wider issue within the squad.
“You can learn more about a group from a defeat than after a win and I saw them work during the week with a very positive attitude all of them,” said the Spaniard in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“For sure, when you are a player and you are not playing, you can’t be happy – that is what I expect from the players who are not playing and they need to show me they are not happy during the training session.
“For me, this is the most important thing and obviously when you are not winning games or helping your team, you have more desire to play games and help your team-mates But all of them have been working so hard and I have a very good group with a very good attitude.”
Arbeloa knows the challenge awaiting him at Anfield, having made 98 appearances for Liverpool and helped them reach the 2007 Champions League final before joining Real Madrid.
“We have a massive game this week. We know we need to improve and we have to adjust some parts of our game, but we are focused on the game tomorrow,” Arbeloa said.
“We can score goals against any team in the Premier League, that is the thing we are doing so well, creating so many chances and are aggressive without the ball.
“When you play against a team like Liverpool, with very good players, you need to control them when you have the ball.
“You can see that they [Liverpool] are improving, now controlling the games better. I watched their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, they did a very good game – they are so aggressive and press high.
“They are so quick up front and have a top squad. Maybe they can make some changes, but they will still start with top players.”
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