Liverpool head coach Arne Slot will not underestimate Manchester United as he believes they are a better side than their league position suggests.
The Dutchman thinks new boss Ruben Amorim will get things right despite a shaky start.
Just two wins in eight Premier League matches since replacing Erik ten Hag has left United 14th heading into the weekend, as close to the bottom three as they are to the top seven.
But Slot, who by comparison has had a dream start at Anfield – winning 23 of his 27 matches and losing just once – backed the Portuguese to eventually get it right.
“They have much better players, in my opinion, than maybe the league table shows at the moment,” he said.
“It’s maybe going to take a while for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players, I don’t know, but they will definitely go up and they are much better than the league shows at the moment.
“I think every manager sympathises with every other manager because we all know how much pressure this job brings, that is no different for him or me.
“This is a job with pressure, it is also something we like, otherwise we should not do this.
“He has done so well with Sporting. He has a good squad so he will eventually bring the best from them.
“There have been moments they have played really well: the second-half performance against Newcastle was really good.”
Liverpool are enjoying their longest unbeaten run at Anfield against their arch-rivals since the 1970s.
They are unbeaten in the last eight league matches (four wins and four draws) and in the last six at home, they have scored 16 goals to United’s one.
Liverpool start the weekend with a six-point lead and a match in hand over second-placed Arsenal, having rarely looked in trouble all season in putting together an unexpected title challenge.
Slot believes the experience of the group – many were Premier League winners with the club in 2020 – has made a difference.
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“It’s always important that you have players or staff members that know how to win things,” he added.
“But I would be surprised if I worked at a club like Liverpool that you would have told me, ‘You don’t have anyone who won the league in their career’ because we are here at one of the best clubs in the world, so probably it’s normal that there are players over here that have won many things in their career.
“It is definitely helpful but the most (important) thing that helps us winning games is work-rate and quality of the players.
“Of course, sometimes it can help if you are used to winning big games. That’s what’s quite normal if you play at this club – that you are used to playing big games.”
