The former Liverpool and Chelsea right-back Glen Johnson has been impressed with Arne Slot’s start to life at Anfield, but thinks the Reds will be in for a tough test against the Blues on Sunday.
Slot has picked up nine wins from his first 10 matches in charge of Liverpool, a club record, and saw his side spend the international break at the top of the Premier League.
The Dutchman has always been at pains to point out that bigger tests lie ahead for his side than the ones they’ve faced so far, but Johnson – who played 72 times for Chelsea between 2003 and 2007 and then 200 times for Liverpool between 2009 and 2015 – likes what he sees.
Diogo Jota vs Darwin Nunez starting call made ahead of Liverpool vs Chelsea clash
“Managing Liverpool is a massive job. It’s a job where you could easily get overwhelmed and start to overthink things, but he seems to be a very calm man and very chilled,” he said.
“It’s nice that he’s not changed too much because there wasn’t too much to change. He walked into a dressing room littered with world-class players. Most of the time when a new manager goes into a club, the club is in the doldrums, but Liverpool were flying. That’s obviously helped him, but he deserves credit too.
“The one major difference is the use of Ryan Gravenberch. He’s been given a new role in Liverpool’s midfield under Slot and has been a revelation. It looks like he was born to play in the six role and Slot ’s arrival seems to be getting the best out of him as a player.”
When it comes to Sunday’s meeting between his two former sides at Anfield, Johnson is backing the Reds to get the better of the Blues.
“Obviously, there’s no easy game if you’re not at it in the Premier League, but definitely, the big fixtures, they’re much harder to win than your average game in the Premier League,” he said.
“I think this is going to be the toughest one because Chelsea are in form. I think it’ll be a real test, but its probably a bigger carrot for Chelsea than Liverpool. I think Liverpool will win 2-1.”
