Another key match in the 14th round of the 2025/26 Premier League season will take place, with Liverpool hosting newly promoted Sunderland. Manager Sloot stated in a press conference that Sunderland poses a significant threat to their opponents both offensively and defensively.

Liverpool secured a 2-0 victory over West Ham United in the last round of the Premier League, thanks to goals from Isak and Gakopo. With these three points, Liverpool currently sit in 8th place with 21 points, three points behind 4th-placed Aston Villa, giving them plenty of opportunities to gain points in their fight for Champions League qualification.

As for Sunderland, managed by Lebrides, the "Black Cats" defeated Bournemouth 3-2 in the last round and are currently ranked 6th in the standings with 22 points.

Liverpool manager Sloot said, "First of all, I have to give a lot of credit to their manager for such a good start despite bringing in so many new players. I watched Chelsea's game against Arsenal on my way back from the last match, and it was a very high-level game with both teams giving their all and every player working extremely hard."

"Then I realized that Sunderland had beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and also drawn with Arsenal. We can certainly see how good they are from the league table, but after that game, we knew that Sunderland could beat Chelsea and draw with Arsenal, which meant they must be very strong."

Speaking about defender Gomez's form, Sloet said, "One of his skills is that even after a long period of inactivity, he can still perform as well as before when he's back on the pitch. That's not an easy thing. I've coached many players, and many of them struggle to return to their previous level after a period of absence, but that's one of Gomez's strengths."

“I also think that Szoboszlai helped him a lot. Gomez played very well, but he did get a lot of help from Szoboszlai.”

Furthermore, when discussing the importance of setting the tone against Sunderland, Slot said, "It's certainly important. In previous matches, PSV Eindhoven also pressed us high up the pitch. But normally, PSV would pressure the goalkeeper, allowing us to form a triangular passing pattern. However, they didn't do that that time. I think Mamadashvili was waiting for someone to press him, which is why he waited a little longer than usual before passing the ball. It was just a moment, but this situation is never advantageous."

“Sunderland’s characteristics at that moment were similar to PSV Eindhoven’s. Throughout the game, I felt that PSV Eindhoven defended in a low block for most of the time, which was not what we expected, but they did it. Sunderland, on the other hand, has both abilities: either pressing high up the pitch or having all 11 players retreat to the area around the penalty box and defend with all their might. That’s why they are so difficult to deal with.”

Slaughter also said, "But overall, it's important to perform well in the early stages of the game, and it's best to score first. That's what both teams want to do, and tomorrow we will try to do better than in the early stages of our recent games, because in the last few games, except for the one against West Ham, we have conceded goals in the early stages."