Arne Slot has used his programme notes to once again call on Liverpool’s fans to play their part in creating a raucous atmosphere at Anfield ahead of Saturday’s game against Southampton.
With the match falling in between the Champions League last-16 ties against Paris Saint-Germain, and just eight days out from the Carabao Cup final, it would be easy to downplay the significance of the clash.
With the Saints also bottom of the table and sitting on just nine points, it should be Liverpool’s most straightforward afternoon of the season. However, that’s not how Slot views it and he referred to Saturday’s game as the first of ‘three cup finals’ in his pre-match press conference. The Dutchman actually claimed it was the ‘most important’ match over the next eight days and encouraged fans to arrive early and ‘reward’ the players for their efforts against PSG on Wednesday.
Writing in the matchday programme, Slot reiterated that view and stated this was one of the occasions the team needs a ‘big atmosphere’.
“This is a game that comes on the back of a very testing Champions League match away in Paris and because of the quick turnaround it is clear that we will have to dig deep to go again. This is not a complaint, it is just our reality,” Slot stated, as relayed by Liverpool’s website.
“We do not get to make excuses and nor do we want to. We just have to do whatever it takes to give ourselves the best possible chance of getting a positive result. Again, if you are a team that wants to go hard in the Premier League and the Champions League – which we are – this is an obligation.
“It is clear, though, that given the efforts that the players put in on Wednesday night, we will need our supporters today. In football, it is sometimes easy to look at the fixture list and predict when there will be a big atmosphere but sometimes it is as much about the need and the moment. This, I would say, is definitely one of those occasions.”
(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Slot’s concern is partly born out of his previous meetings with Southampton, with the Saints pushing Liverpool at St Mary’s in 3-2 and 2-1 victories in November and December. The latter came in the Carabao Cup, in a match where the Reds were somewhat hanging on in the latter stages. It’s something Slot clearly hasn’t forgotten.
“Southampton are a team who have given us a big test already this season,” he wrote. “Our fixture at St Mary’s was very tight, as the result demonstrated, and it was yet another occasion when the strength of the Premier League was shown because we were pushed all the way, even if expectations outside of ourselves had been that it would be a much more straightforward game.
“That experience will help us today but only if we use the information in the right way. We should expect Southampton to fight every inch of the way once again.
“We should be prepared for them to look to take advantage of any weaknesses we might show. And we should know that they have the quality to cause problems for any opponent, as has been shown on many occasions this season regardless of what the league table might say.”
