Arne Slot names one star who can make a key difference as he rekindles rivalry with Ruud van Nistelrooy – and warns Liverpool stars to learn from frenzied Tottenham match ahead of Leicester clash

Arne Slot has warned his Liverpool players they must be on top of their game against Leicester on Thursday night.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side are 17th in the table, just two points above the relegation zone, and have conceded seven goals without scoring in losing their past two games, but Slot is taking nothing for granted.

‘It’s special for these teams to go to Anfield and they know when they go to Anfield they have to be at their best, so they never underestimate us,’ said Slot, whose side are four points clear at the summit.

‘Hopefully that’s the good thing about the 15 minutes we had (when Liverpool conceded twice at Tottenham) that we understand we cannot underestimate for even one minute in the Premier League because then we’re not as good as we might think we are.’

Slot and Van Nistelrooy have history from their time in the Netherlands. Slot’s Feyenoord won the Dutch title in 2023 but they failed to beat Van Nistelrooy’s PSV in the league, losing one and drawing one.

‘Cody Gakpo was in his team so I’m happy he’s in my team now for when we face Ruud,’ Slot said.

Slot believes Cody Gakpo could be influential as he used to play for Van Nistelrooy at PSV

‘Ruud is a nice person. I’ve met him once or twice. He did really well at PSV because for the last one-and-a-half years, they’ve been top of the league. If you look at the second half of Ruud’s season, they only lost once. When he was there, Gakpo and Noni Madueke were sold but he still competed for the title.’

During his time managing in the Eredivisie, Slot was used to a winter break from football but this year he has had to get used to the busy festive schedule.

He told Sky Sports: ‘It is different. This week there was a padel tournament that my brother organised.

‘Last season I was there and then went to Dubai for 10 days. Now I am not going to go to Dubai as I am going to manage a few games!’

He admitted it was tough being away from family over Christmas. ‘There are obvious reasons why we kept the children and my wife in Holland as they are in the last year of their school,’ he said. ‘But in the ideal world you are the manager of Liverpool and have your family around you.’