Liverpool manager Arne Slot says that his side does not feel nervous when they enter the Premier League run with a seven-point lead over Arsenal.
The Reds defeated Wolves 2-1 on Anfield on Sunday without having a shot on goal in the second half while Wolves 10 had and came close to stealing a surprise point.
But lock says that narrow victories can be expected in this phase of the season and still expect a strict investigation when they are eliminated on Wednesday evening opposite Aston Villa.
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He said: “We won at home or away by one goal when it was tight too. If this happens at the end of the season, people will talk about nerves, but to win a victory in the Premier League if you only lead one goal, will always defend a lot and work a lot of hard.
“During large parts of the season it is just hard work, but at the end of the season we talk about nerves.
Arne Slot shares an update about the fitness of Cody Gakpo and Joe Gomez 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/lr7W2WGtrc
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“In the final phase of the season, many games are really tight. Not just ours. When I look at all the results, even Barcelona yesterday, which I admire a lot and played really good football this season, they were almost admitted and made 1-1.
“It is the final phase of the season where such results are quite common, as in our title -winning season with Feyenoord. It tells you that you have to fight until the end and these games that you have to win to achieve something. “
‘They have a great home record’
Liverpool still has to lose on the Road under Slicht and Villa has won only one of their last 14 Premier League matches against Liverpool.
But lock thinks that Villa – who has added Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio to their attack – will be a heavy note to crack.
“If you get the fixed list, I think Villa away you see as one of the more difficult things you stand for,” said Slot
‘[They have] A very good manager [Unai Emery] who always has a very good game plan. He brought in quite a few good players during the winter break and they already had a very good team. They qualified for the top eight in the Champions League, so it tells you that it is a strong team that we are confronted with.
“They have a great home record, maybe even more when they play in the evening, so we know this will be a challenge, but we have quite a good record this season. We also did best this season, so it’s a game for everyone to look forward to. “
Team news
Slot confirmed that defender Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo are both still out of operation.
He said: “Cody comes closest to coming, but Joe will take a lot of time. He goes out for a few weeks because of a hamstring injury.
“It’s a big blow to Joe and for us. He tries to do everything to be with the team. He works very hard to come back and then the first game when he came back after two or three minutes, we saw him make a sprint and now he is out for weeks.
“So that is always very difficult for a player in every part of the season, let alone a part of the season that everyone is looking forward to.”
