Arne Slot believes his Liverpool side should not be looking at Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League standings, despite their recent unbeaten run.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions and seven in the league, though three of those matches have been draws (W3).
Liverpool began 2026 with a goalless draw against Leeds United at Anfield, leaving them in fourth and 12 points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Ahead of their trip to Fulham on Sunday, Slot does not see much use in looking up at the title challengers in the league table.
“Realistically, I think there are two teams – by the way, with [Aston] Villa being really close to them but because Arsenal won against Villa they created a bit of a gap towards Villa as well,” said Slot.
“Realistically those two teams are quite far away from us and we should not look at those two at this moment in time.
“We’ve had our struggles throughout. We started really well in terms of results, [the] games were really close. Then we had a phase of the season where the games were still really close but we were constantly unlucky.
“Now I think we are seven or eight games in a row unbeaten, but if you say this you feel like, ‘They are flying through the league’ but that is not what we are doing.”
Next up, a trip to West London #FULLIV pic.twitter.com/D7Y2ofS65h
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 2, 2026
Fulham, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games (W3 D1) after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day.
The Cottagers are 11th in the table, but just six points behind Liverpool heading into their meeting at Craven Cottage.
Despite a shaky first half of the season for Liverpool, Fulham boss Marco Silva refused to underestimate their opponents.
“They had a bad run that made a massive impact in their season so far,” Silva said.
“Because if you go back for the beginning of the season, after the way they were champions last season, they started with five wins in a row.
“And everybody was talking – okay, they are the same, with some changes, but they are the same, they kept the same winning mentality, they kept the same quality, and they kept winning football matches.
“And [then] comes a bad run, and a bad run that is not normal for them, and it made a massive impact in the points, position on the table and all that stuff. We all agree that is not a normal run for them, not usual for them.”
Marco Silva knows that on Sunday Fulham will be facing a Liverpool side which is more than capable of reacting to disappointment.
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 2, 2026
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Harry Wilson
Wilson has been involved in four goals in his last seven home league appearances (three goals, one assist), more than he had in his previous 20 at Craven Cottage (three goals).
The former Liverpool winger will be hoping to get one over on his former side, previously scoring against the Reds in a 4-3 defeat in December 2023.
Liverpool – Hugo Ekitike
Ekitike has scored three goals in his last two Premier League away games, having scored just once in his first six on the road for Liverpool.
He last scored in more consecutive away league games in December 2021 (four with Reims).
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool have earned seven points from their last three Premier League away games (W2 D1), more than they had in their previous eight on the road (six – W2 D0 L6).
Fulham have won just one of their last 19 Premier League games against the reigning champions (D3 L15), though that victory did come against Liverpool in March 2021 (1-0 at Anfield).
After losing five consecutive Premier League away games against London sides, Liverpool have now won their last two. Meanwhile, the Reds have also scored in their last 20 league games in the capital since a 0-0 draw at Chelsea in April 2023.
However, Fulham were one of just three teams Liverpool failed to beat in their Premier League title-winning campaign last season (D1 L1), along with Nottingham Forest (D1 L1) and Arsenal (D2).
And Fulham have won five of their last eight Premier League home games (L3), keeping a clean sheet in four of those. Those four clean sheets are already twice as many as they kept at Craven Cottage last season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 29.2%
Draw – 24.6%
Liverpool – 46.2%
