After a dramatic 2-2 draw in the midweek Merseyside derby that saw Liverpool move seven points clear at the summit, Slot’s men host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.

With 14 top-flight matches remaining and the next four being played by February 26, the head coach underscores the need to keep standards as high as possible.

“Wolves are a team who gave us a very testing afternoon when we met at Molineux earlier this season,” writes Slot.

“The first 15 to 20 minutes in particular was a challenging period because they made it difficult for us to control the game and we had to show a lot of patience and work really hard to come away with a positive result.

“I think the way that game went surprised some people because we went into it on top of the Premier League with Wolves at the bottom, but I said at the time that they were clearly in a false position and that the quality they had meant they would not stay there.

“This has turned out to be right with Wolves now out of the relegation zone having picked up a very impressive victory against Aston Villa recently. That result speaks for itself and it is a clear indication that we should expect nothing but another tough game this afternoon.

“I would like to welcome Vitor Pereira and the staff, players and supporters of Wolves to Anfield. Vitor may be a fairly new manager to the Premier League having replaced Gary O’Neil less than two months ago but he has incredible experience having worked in a number of leagues over the last 20 years. As with all managers, I am very much looking forward to meeting him and competing against his team.

“It is a key part of the season for them and of course it is exactly the same for us. The particular challenge for us today is to respond to the Merseyside derby as positively as we can.

“Yes, we can be disappointed by coming as close as we did to getting a win in that game but we have to channel this disappointment in the right way, which means the focus should be on producing an improved performance and nothing else.

“Including today’s fixture, we still have 14 league games left to play with 42 points at stake, which equates to just over one-third of the season remaining. There is so much football to be played and we cannot and will not lose sight of that.

“The big lesson of the Premier League is that in any given fixture it is possible for any team to take points from another team, which means we have to do everything we can to keep our standards high.”

Slot continues: “As well as playing another very important game, today is important for Liverpool FC for another reason as we will celebrate the incredible work of LFC Foundation as they celebrate their Community Day here at Anfield.

“Of course the foundation is still fairly new to me but in the short time that I have been here I have learned a lot about the work that they do for the local community and it is clear that it is very special.

“Looking ahead, I am looking forward to working with them more in the future and meeting more of the inspirational people that they support through their programmes, with events like today giving us the opportunity to make even more people aware of the work that they do.

“Hopefully by doing this we can also help them continue to raise vital funds to allow them to help even more people. I am told they supported almost 130,000 people last season and so it’s clear to see the impact they are having across our communities.

“A football club is about so much more than just the football, it’s about community, togetherness, raising aspirations and giving people hope, and that is something that LFC Foundation are doing every day.”

This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.