Arne Slot has mentioned it countless times: Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest. At the time, it felt like a setback for the new Anfield head coach, but a few months on, the context has changed.

"They showed in retrospect what a good team they are," Slot said during his pre-match press conference. "In general, when Liverpool loses a home game [it is a surprise]. In that moment Virgil [van Dijk] played 100 home games and only lost once.

"For me to lose on that day was hard to take. Looking back at it and where they are in the league, maybe it’s not as big of a shock. They had a good game plan and brought the winger in (Callum Hudson-Odoi) that did so well."

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Still, though, Liverpool will want to put the defeat right at the City Ground. If nothing else, a win for the Reds on Tuesday night would put a nine-point gap between the sides and put an end to any speculation that Nottingham Forest could be about to "do a Leicester".

"I always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season and that moment is here now," Slot continued. "If Forest is up there with us, with Arsenal, Chelsea, [Manchester] City and all the others, then they definitely are a team that is in competition with us and with the other teams.

"They deserved to be treated like this if you look at the way they play, if you look at their performances and results. It is going to be a very difficult challenge tomorrow to get a result.

"What every manager tries to do is to find the plan and style to suit the players best. That's what Nuno did and their style suits them. They work really hard without the ball — Chris Wood is an example.

"They have midfielders who can bring wingers into positions. They have a threat on the counter but not just the counter. I think Nuno did a great job in implementing a style of play that suits the players well."

This is the first time that Slot has referred to Liverpool's Nottingham Forest defeat in this way, publicly at least. While previously it has bugged him, here there was only respect for the kind of team that Nuno has put together. Losing to Morgan Gibbs-White and co doesn't look so bad now in the context of them being level on points with Arsenal — and Liverpool having won almost every game since.

"You can judge the league table better at halfway, but we also know that in the second half teams will improve," Slot said. "Teams can bring players in January. There’s more at stake in the second half of the table, and you see more shocks, so we have to improve and over the next 19 games."

Going to Nottingham Forest and winning would be a great way to kickstart 2025. After the draw with Manchester United and the defeat to Spurs, it would be a timely statement that Liverpool is ready to put some more distance between itself and the chasing pack at the top.