Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo says his side will give Liverpool the respect they deserve ahead of their visit to the City Ground.

The Reds lead the Tricky Trees by six points but saw that gap cut to three with a win at home to Arne Slott’s men.

Forest are the only team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League this season, running out 1-0 winners at Anfield in September.

Ahead of their second meeting of the campaign, Slott did not hesitate to label Nuno’s men as title challengers but the former Tottenham boss is choosing to ignore the noise and focus on one game at a time.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s clash, he said: “We have to play games. We are here to compete against all teams and I think we are doing well, but nothing has changed in our approach, which remains the same.

“We know what we can do and how we want to do things. We know each other, our strengths and weaknesses. So let’s play the game.

“I don’t know, but we try as much as possible to ignore what’s around. We never change. It’s the way we see things, the way we see competition. I would say it’s the way we see life. It’s day by day, focus on our tasks and tomorrow is another tough one.

🗣️ ‘We know we can trust them.’

Nuno on your support tomorrow. ❤️

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025

“Salah, Diaz, Gakpo, McAllister, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, Konate, Trent…quality everywhere. A fantastic team. They have shown how good they are not only in the Premier League but in Europe. We realize this and approach the game with real respect is essential to playing against Liverpool.”

After Leicester’s famous victory in 2016, Forest are proving to be the closest challengers for the title outside the traditional top six.

While the Foxes went on to lift the trophy that season, there was no doubt that Nuno’s men faced an uphill task with Liverpool and Arsenal breathing down their necks.

And when pressed to answer the term for his aspirations, the Forest boss once again brushed the question aside.

He added: “It’s not about the game, it’s about the season and our strengths and our weaknesses. It’s about understanding what we can do and what we’re capable of and what we can do really well. That we have to iterate and then take care of the weakness we have and the things we have to develop.

“But the basic principle of our approach is always the same. What we want to be is finally one day we want to sit down and say that now we are a solid, compact team that does not give too much to our opponents, that is difficult to break down and at the same time is on its quality. Ball and pace in attack.

“All these things are ideal. We are still pursuing it and working on it.

Heading to Liverpool. 💪 pic.twitter.com/zTyFBwaUBi

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025

“I see a group of players really committed to doing well. What could happen in the future? i don’t know The proof is that we’ve done it before – we’ve had a good start to the competition.

“I think we are improving through competition. I truly believe that players, the more time they spend together, the better they can play together, then the more they grow and improve their knowledge of each other.

“I see a good group of people, more than the players. A group of people who want to do things together. This is important – the bond, the unity, this is what I really value.