Arne Slot challenges Liverpool players to be ready for busy schedule | Liverpool

Arne Slot says he is ready to embrace the chaos of a busy Liverpool schedule as he prepares his team for seven games in 22 days.

Liverpool start the weekend in second place after a perfect start to Slot’s tenure, winning three games without conceding a goal. Slot will be without Harvey Elliott, who suffered a broken foot during the international break, on Saturday for the visit of Nottingham Forest, who are unbeaten in the Premier League with one win and two draws.

“It is what it is and that’s why, if we are lucky enough to work at big clubs like I am, we also have a lot of good players,” Slot said. “And that’s also one of the reasons why we have so many players. If we only played 15 games, we wouldn’t need as many players as we have now.

“For the players it can be a lot. If it is too much, then it is a question they have to ask themselves, because I don’t feel what they feel, but I do see that it is a lot and it is up to us to prove that we can handle it: those who play almost every game and those who come and show that they can continue to get results as we have done so far.”

Liverpool play Milan on Tuesday in the first of eight guaranteed Champions League games. Slot was responsible for 47 games for Feyenoord last season, while Liverpool played 58 matches, a number they hope to match, although it would test the depth and fitness of the squad.

“The hardest part of the season comes after November, when we play until March and we don’t have the break that all the other countries have,” Slot said. “So in this period I wouldn’t say it’s hard for me. It’s much harder for the players who have gone to their national teams. I’m full of energy every day to play padel.”

Elliott was injured for England Under-21s, but Slot will be strengthened by the return of Curtis Jones and new signing Federico Chiesa could make his debut. The head coach said of Elliott: “It’s a blow for him first and foremost, but also for us; availability is important at a stage of the season where we have seven games in 22 days.”