Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has backed Marcus Rashford to turn his career around at Aston Villa and said he was “really impressed” by the forward when he faced him for the first time.
Rashford joined Villa on loan from Manchester United in January, having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim. The 27-year-old made his Premier League debut for Unai Emery’s side in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at the weekend and could feature when Liverpool travel to Villa Park on Wednesday night.
Asked for his opinion on the England international, Slot said: “Of course I knew Marcus Rashford from following the Premier League but the first time I faced him in real life was in the USA [preseason] tour and I was really impressed with how fast he is.
“He has a nice height and he’s comfortable on the ball. I think he’s a very good player. I hope that, for him, he is going to that Villa but not [on Wednesday]. I will be completely surprised if a player of that quality doesn’t show that in the upcoming months.”
Liverpool could move 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a victory over Villa, though second-place Arsenal will have a game in hand. It is a continuation of a tough run for Slot’s side, who also travel to Manchester City at the weekend before hosting Newcastle United at Anfield later this month.
Reflecting on whether this spell could be season-defining for his team, Slot said: “I see it as 13 games to be played and the next game is the most important one, starting with Villa away which is, like Wolves at home, a difficult game, for us and for everyone.
“They have a great home record, maybe even more if they play in the evening, so we know that it’s going to be a challenge. But we have quite an OK away record this season. So it’s a game for everyone to look forward to.”
Slot also confirmed Liverpool are set to be without forward Cody Gakpo and defender Joe Gomez against Villa, with the latter set to miss a significant part of the rest of the season.
“Both will be unavailable for tomorrow,” Slot said. “Cody is close to being back and Joe will take quite a long time. He will be out for a number of weeks. It is [a big blow] for him and for us.”
Meanwhile, Villa boss Unai Emery said the clash against Liverpool will be the most daunting his side will face until the end of the season.
“For me as a coach it is a big challenge, a challenge to how we can collectively set our game plan against them. It’s the most difficult match we are going to play for the last weeks and months,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“Liverpool are the best team in the Premier League and Europe. Our challenge is to how we face them and respond with our qualities and how we play at this level.”
Emery also confirmed that midfielder Boubacar Kamara will miss the game on Wednesday owing to a hamstring issue he picked up in the draw against Ipswich.