PreviewArne Slot press conference: Why I'm looking forward to an interesting game with Chelsea

The Reds return from the international break with a 4.30pm BST kick-off at Anfield against Enzo Maresca's Blues, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League standings.

Slot previewed the clash by attending a press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning – read on for a summary of what he told reporters…

• Injury news: Arne Slot's squad fitness update before Liverpool v Chelsea

On contracts...

What is happening is that they were with the national teams. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] scored a fantastic free-kick, like you probably saw. Same question, same answer. There will always be talks about our players. And it's a good thing that you ask about it – that means that they do really well, because if they would have played badly then you probably wouldn't have asked. So, it's a good thing that everybody wants their contracts to be renewed because that tells me – and I also see this – that they do really well. But I cannot tell you anything about that at this place.

On the week ahead...

If you judge your team on only a week, that would not be fair. So, I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them. Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games. That is normal in everybody's season and we know how difficult it is. We've seen that ourselves two years ago when we played Champions League, we've seen this last season with Manchester United, and the only ones who showed that they can perform [in the] Champions League and in the league are [Manchester] City and Arsenal in the last two seasons. So, now it's up to us. But I don't think it's fair to judge us after a week – even though if we do really well it wouldn't be fair. But the best way to judge us is in four weeks.

On whether Sunday's game is Liverpool's 'biggest challenge' in the league so far this season…

If you look at the league table, it is. I think Manchester United is a very good team, a top club in England that has spent a lot of money to even make the team better again. Same for Chelsea in this season. Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent. But it's not always about the league table. Sometimes it's about the form of the day, it's about their game plan. We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think. But it is a challenge, that's for sure.

On the need for a good defensive performance against Chelsea...

Very important. If you want to achieve something in this season, you need to be defensively really stable. We've been that until now. Again, [the] fixture list we have to take into account as well. And now we face even better players because I agree with you that Chelsea, like Man United, has a lot, a lot, a lot of great individuals who we have to try to manage, to control. That's not what one player does, that's what we have to do as a team. But we must not forget to create our own chances as well, because if you want to win you need to score as well. Fortunately and the good thing for us is that we have players that can score goals. [I'm] looking forward to a very interesting game on Sunday.

On Conor Bradley captaining Northern Ireland and his future at Liverpool...

I think it's going to be a bright future for him because he's a very good player and very good players [are] what we need here at Liverpool. He's done – last season especially – really well when he had to replace Trent, and now Trent has played a lot. But he is a very good player and although he has big competition from Trent, normally very good players find their way into the team. That's what I also expect with him in the future at this club.

On how crucial Virgil van Dijk has been for him in his first few months...

He has been crucial for us, like many others, but Virgil definitely as well. From what you guys see on the pitch, there we see all the same how good he is and he still is in defence [and] how much he contributes to our offensive side to our play. But what you guys don't see and what I do see is how important he also is on the training ground. He's always the one that's most loud during the sessions, he always brings a lot of energy into our sessions and quality as well. What you see during the weekends is also what I see during the week, and that's what you're hoping for if you have a captain that is not only showing his performances in the weekend but also during the week. He's definitely our leader.

On Alexander-Arnold playing well at left-back for England...

I cannot give you that answer because I haven't seen the game – I did see the free-kick. But I think similar to what I just said about Conor, good players will always find their way into the team. They will always find a way of playing well, especially if they have good teammates and play in a good team – and that's what Trent has. The national team of England has a lot of very good players and Trent is one of them. If you then play the likes of Finland and Greece, with all the respect, then normally these quality players will play good games, although they did lose against Greece. But if Trent plays against Finland with the teammates he has, you can play him, I think, in every position and he will play a good game.

On Alexander-Arnold's responsibility in the team...

He's been very good for us until now. He was and is still important in our attacking part of our game. I also like the way he has defended until now in the games he played for us. I think he made a step up in that perspective. But like for all the others, there's still room for improvement, that's clear. But he's done very well for us this season and I think he's done really well for the national team as well. If I'm correct, from the four games he played, he was three times Man of the Match – it's quite a good score! Let's hope that he's going to be Man of the Match for us once in a while now as well, although I think Ibou [Konate] wants to be it!

On whether he took a break during the internationals or continued to work...

I think a bit of both. It starts off with the first thing you said, taking a mental break. That's why I think it's so, so, so normal that Virgil didn't stay with the team but came back. At certain moments, managers but also players need these mental breaks. It's not that it's too hard for us physically – especially not for me because I am not playing – but mentally it asks a lot from you. I think I came back on Tuesday to Liverpool and then you start thinking about Chelsea, thinking about Leipzig, thinking about what we have to improve [and] what other teams can try to come up with. So, it's a bit of both but if I'm back home I am quite good at not thinking about football. Although it is never completely out of your head, [it is] more than it is when I am here.