The Liverpool coach is looking forward to the big game at Anfield on Wednesday

European champions Real Madrid are coming to town, offering their first chance to test themselves against great coach Carlo Ancelotti. However, there were more pressing matters for Arne Slot as he addressed the assembled media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of that evening’s glamorous showdown at Anfield.

“Now my family is coming over. So if I hurry up, I have to get the groceries for them and then go home!” laughs the Reds boss.

It reflected the current mood among Liverpool fans. The visit of the Spanish champions is not greeted with tense concern, but rather with relaxed anticipation.

READ MORE: Andy Robertson casts doubt on Liverpool’s dressing room contracts READ MORE: I had the last laugh after Real Madrid’s arrogant star told me about Liverpool

If all roads ended with Madrid in the Champions League under Jürgen Klopp, Slot will hope this latest clash with the Spanish capital instead underlines the bright new start to his reign, which has left him eight points clear at the top of the Premier League and the lead gave the team a path in Europe.

Having lost seven of their last eight games against the Bernabeu team – including the 2018 and 2022 finals and the 2022/23 round of 16 humiliation – there will be a feeling for some in the Liverpool squad that the score is yet to be sorted out . The bonus would make Real’s disappointing start to their Champions League defense even more difficult.

However, for Slot there is none of this ballast. “I didn’t realize we played them so much,” he says. “I was aware that two years ago they – I say ‘them’ because I wasn’t there – were 2-0 up.”

“I used that game in front of my team at Feyenoord to show that Real Madrid always find a way to win a game. When Liverpool were leading 2-0, no one would have expected the game to end 5-2 for Real Madrid, but that’s what makes them so special, that they can turn games around like that.

“They can win it in different ways and when things are difficult for them they can still win a game and that is probably one of the reasons – apart from the fact that they have so much quality – that they have won this tournament many times .”

“If we are lucky enough to be a goal ahead or even more (on Wednesday), we are still aware of the fact that the game will not be over until the referee blows the whistle, especially given the experience before two “In general it is, but I think we all feel it a little more than against some of the other clubs we’re up against.”

However, the visit of the European Super League supporters is unlikely to even be the biggest game at Anfield this week, as Manchester City will be greeted on Sunday with the chance to move 11 points clear of the Premier League champions after just 13 games.

But Slot knows the significance of the occasion. “It’s a big game,” he says. “I think Real Madrid and Manchester City, along with Liverpool, have been dominating Europe and the league for a number of years now, so it’s a special week for us, especially because we play at home twice. But when this week is over, there’s another big week ahead,” with Newcastle away and the Merseyside derby.

“When you play at Liverpool you always play big games but yes, the next two are special because these three clubs have dominated the league and Europe recently.”

Not that Slot has any fears about his team keeping an eye on his weekend assignment. “I think we gave the answer on Sunday in Southampton, where you could argue: if the next games are Real Madrid and City, are the players really ready to perform or are they looking ahead to the next game?” he says.

“They weren’t looking at the next game. We won’t let ourselves be distracted by the next opponent.”

While Liverpool have won all four Champions League games this season, Real have struggled to maintain their form consistently with defeats at Lille and most recently at home to AC Milan.

They will be without a number of players due to injury, with Vinicius Junior – who scored the winning goal in the 2022 final – the latest to miss out. And Slot admits the Brazil international’s absence has meant a change to Liverpool’s game plan.

“We are approaching it differently because a new player with different qualities will be playing for them,” said the Reds head coach. “We knew when Vinicius would have started, I had to prepare them for him and Mbappe, they are probably the biggest attacking threat for Real.”

“With Vinicius not playing now, we have to expect something different. I think he played almost every game for Madrid, so it’s quite difficult for us now to understand what to expect. What we know, what awaits us, is 11 players with great quality and we are trying to prepare our players as best as possible.

“Will Bellingham play as a ten? Will he play from the left? Will he play from the right? Will Endrick come in? You have so many options. Now it’s a little harder for us to see what they’re going to do.” If Vinicius had been fit I probably could have suggested their line-up, now it might be a surprise for us. What we know is that we are playing against 11 great players and a very good team.

Finding a way to overcome this will be Slot’s next task. After shopping, of course.