Arne Slot says high-flying Nottingham Forest "deserve" to be treated as Premier League title contenders as he prepares Liverpool for a tricky trip to the City Ground on Tuesday.
Third-placed Forest, responsible for Liverpool's only league defeat of the season, can move just three points behind the title favourites if they win a seventh straight league game in midweek.
Forest finished just outside the relegation places last season and their surge towards the top of the table is a big surprise.
But Slot, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Monday, said Nuno Espirito Santo's team must be considered as serious rivals.
"I've always said that you can judge the table best halfway through the season, and that moment is there now, so if Forest is up there with us, with Arsenal, Chelsea, (Manchester) City and all the others, then they definitely are a team that's in competition with us and with the other teams," said the Dutchman.
"And they deserve to be treated like this if you look at the way they play, if you look at their results. So it's going to be a very difficult challenge tomorrow to get a result."
Tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/rhmyWTtQtO
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025
Forest, who have not conceded a goal in the Premier League since mid-December, beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in September, although Slot said given their subsequent form, the result was not the shock it seemed at the time.
The rise of Nuno's team has given the English top flight a retro look.
Forest, under then manager Brian Clough, challenged Liverpool's dominance in the late 1970s, winning the league title in 1978 and then succeeding them as European champions.
"That's been quite a long time ago and now they're all back at it," said Slot.
"They are doing really, really good and Nuno is doing an incredible job. But if you look at the amount of money they've spent, it's not a complete surprise that they do well this season."
Next up, we're back in Premier League action 👊 #NFOLIV pic.twitter.com/UwvzLfsKao
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 12, 2025
Slot himself has had a stellar first season at Anfield so far, winning 24 of 30 matches in all competitions, but he played down the start he has enjoyed since succeeding Jurgen Klopp.
"I've said many times if you go into a job you don't think about where we will be halfway through a season when it comes to the position in the league table," he said.
"What you do try to focus on a lot is 'Can we make the players really fit, can we make them work really hard and can we implement the playing style in the best possible way from the start?'.
"You never know what the other teams are going to do."