Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said he is expecting a difficult game against Ipswich Town this weekend and believes Kieran McKenna’s side have been “unlucky” in games since their promotion to the Premier League.
The league leaders will host 18th-placed Ipswich at Anfield on Saturday, having won the reverse fixture 2-0 on the opening day of the season. Reflecting on the differences he has seen in his team since their trip to Portman Road, Slot said: “The fact was that I only worked with 13 or 14 players for a 1½ weeks back then.
“Sometimes a lot gets said about how difficult it is to come in halfway through a season and try to work with a new team but to be fair it maybe felt a little bit the same for me because lots of players only came in one and a half weeks before the start of the season and from then we have only played games. It’s normal that we’ve improved compared to that game although the second half performance was something that was quite similar to the performances I see now.”
He added: “[Ipswich] have been unlucky sometimes in the last moments of games. The second half of the season is always more difficult because some teams strengthen themselves during the winter and many teams have worked with managers for half a season, so a team becomes normally better and that is the case for Ipswich. It’s fair to say they have improved and that is a compliment to Kieran McKenna.”
Slot also confirmed that Liverpool will be without midfielder Curtis Jones for Saturday’s game after he was withdrawn at half-time in the midweek win over Lille, however the Dutchman has allayed fears that Ibrahima Konaté is struggling for fitness after the France international recently said he has been playing through pain since returning from a knee injury earlier this month.
“You have seen how we have tried to manage that [injury],” Slot said. “Jarell [Quansah] played against Lille and Accrington. That is a bit because [Konate] has some pain. We don’t exaggerate it but he feels it a bit. It’s safe for him to play but you’re aware of the load. When a player is out for five or six weeks then playing someone every three days is a certain risk so we try to manage that. I think he has now come to a moment where he is able to play three times a week.”
