Daniel Farke believes Liverpool are back in the title-race after seeing the Reds put together a seven-game unbeaten run ahead of their New Year’s Day clash with Leeds United
Daniel Farke admits it would be easy to ‘fear the worst’ ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Liverpool, believing the Reds have put themselves back in the title-race since the 3-3 draw between the two sides at Elland Road at the start of December.
Arne Slot’s side currently sit fourth in the Premier League table and have put together a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
While they trail league-leaders Arsenal by 13 points, having played a game less, they can close the gap on third-placed Aston Villa to four points with a win over Leeds on New Year’s Day.
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A victory would also see them move five points clear of Chelsea and Manchester United, who currently sit fifth and sixth in the table respectively, after the pair both dropped points on Tuesday night.
Liverpool will be without the likes of Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak for Thursday evening’s game, with the Egyptian currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Swede sidelined after undergoing surgery on a fractured leg.
But Farke is adamant such absences do not make it a good time to face the Reds, pointing to the form of Hugo Ektike and Florian Wirtz in particular as he made a point of highlighting how the German cost more than all of his summer signings put together when joining Liverpool in an £116m deal from Bayer Leverkusen.
“No, I don’t think so, (it’s not a good time to play Liverpool despite their absences),” he said. “Because when I have a look at the squad and who is playing in the offensive positions, you could fear the worst.
“They have Ekitike. I know him also from Germany and it’s an impressive start to life at Liverpool, in red hot form.
“Florian Wirtz is a player of unbelievable potential. I think just he alone cost more money that we spent in the whole summer for all of our signings.
“We don’t have to speak about all the other options who are there for the offence. Sometimes it’s even beneficial when you don’t have too many options and too many competitions for the confidence of the offensive players.
“If one or two are not available, I don’t think it changes anything from the quality Liverpool has.
He continued: “They’re back more or less in the top positions in the league. We don’t have to speak about their potential, about their individual quality.
“They have dominated the league last season like rarely a different team has done in the years before.
“Reigning champions and have a chance also to be back involved in the title-race. Impressive performances, impressive results in the last weeks.
“In these circumstances, in this moment, to go on New Year’s Day to Anfield is more or less one of the most challenging and difficult tasks that you can have.
“We are very respectful and very aware of their strengths, but also not in fear. We know if we are there with a top performance, then even there we have a chance.”
Ao Tanaka scored a 96th minute equaliser for Leeds when they hosted Liverpool just a few weeks ago, with the Whites also recovering from 2-0 down to earn a share of the spoils against the Reds.
Having been left as an unused substitute, Salah made headlines after the final whistle as he hit out at both Slot and the club, claiming his relationship with his head coach had completely broken down and he was being ‘thrown under the bus’ for Liverpool’s poor campaign up to that point.
The 33-year-old would later make amends with Slot following amicable talks between the pair ahead of his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Yet the Reds have remained unbeaten since the Dutchman first decided to bench Salah at the end of last month.
And while Farke is wary of Liverpool’s upturn in form in recent weeks, he is confident his side can call upon the 3-3 draw between the two sides at Elland Road as they look to again earn a positive result.
“Yes, (we can take) a bit of course (from the 3-3 draw at Elland Road) because it’s more or less the same squad,” he said. “Very similar players also available for them.
“I think the only one that is missing in comparison to the group that they had available for the last fixture is perhaps Mo Salah, but he was on the bench anyway and not involved.
“So the same players, same manager, same style. It won’t be a completely different animal right now.
“We had to be at our best, at the top of our game in order to give ourselves a chance and we did. But we did. For that, we had a relatively tight game and also I think deserved in this home game to win one point.
“Yes, what has changed is that Liverpool, in recent weeks, was also in red hot form. They’ve won game after game after we met last time.
“Unbeaten, back in the top positions, and of course a home game for them is also even a bit more challenging and difficult for us.
“It’s a huge task for us but also a task we are looking forward to. I hope we can be as competitive as we were in the first game.”
