NewsA thank you, the year ahead and Man Utd: Arne Slot's first programme notes of 2025

The Liverpool head coach writes ahead of today's Premier League fixture at Anfield: "As this is our first game of 2025, I would like to wish all of our supporters a Happy New Year. I am sure all of you have ambitions for the next 12 months – some of which we probably share – so I hope as many of them are realised as possible.

"I was only at Liverpool for the second half of 2024 but I already know what a wonderful club this is, with fans who give us incredible backing wherever we play, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for that.

"We have done a lot of travelling of late, to Southampton, to Tottenham and to West Ham, and a constant feature has been the noise from the away end. Again, this is not something that any of us take for granted, which is why I want to bring extra attention to it.

"We will need similar backing today of course. The rivalry between Liverpool and United is one that people all around the world are aware of and the main reasons for that are the history and success of the two clubs involved and the quality of the contests that take place between them.

"The temptation for some will be to be drawn to the league table and to draw conclusions about what could happen today based solely on that. For me, this could only ever be a mistake.

"Even with my extremely limited knowledge of this fixture as a participant, I know full well that this is a game which comes down to performance on the day and not points on the board beforehand.

"This is not to say I do not recognise that United have been in a tough moment of late. Their results have not been what they would want and this is something that everyone at their club will want to put right. I would imagine they will feel that there would be no better place to start this process than at Anfield.

"United are historically a club which plans and invests to be successful. It was exactly the same during my first summer in the Premier League when they once again underlined their ambition in the transfer market to add to a squad which already had a lot of quality.

"The problem is we live in an era in which the expectation is that success should always follow immediately but the reality is that, more often than not, time is needed to build something meaningful.

"I would like to welcome Ruben Amorim, his players and staff and the supporters of Manchester United to Anfield. I would also like to extend my best wishes for the New Year to all of you even though it is clear that the rivalry between our clubs means we cannot share the same ambitions!

• Get your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield or order online here

"I have said since the start of the season that the halfway point in the campaign is a good moment to better understand the Premier League table and the possible direction that the clubs are heading in.

"We will reach that point after today's game – although it still will not be a totally true reflection as the recent postponement at Everton means we have not been able to face every team – so the best way for us to get there would be with another positive result. Whatever happens, though, there will be so much football still to be played.

"With 19 games to go and 57 points to play for, the halfway mark will only be a platform. It will not guarantee anything no matter what interpretations and conclusions people might want to draw.

"The truth is that while the hard work might not start now because it began last summer, it definitely does not become any easier now. There are a lot of challenges still ahead – starting with today's against one of our biggest rivals – and as ever we will face them together."