Mohamed Salah believes under-fire Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is a top coach , while the Liverpool forward acknowledges there is already a little bit of pressure on Liverpool heading into Monday s clash with their old rivals.
Jurgen Klopp s Reds make the trip to Old Trafford this weekend seeking a first win of the new Premier League campaign, having so far been held to draws by Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Liverpool are still in a better position than United, though, with new manager Ten Hag suffering consecutive defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.
United s only goal under Ten Hag to date was a Brighton own goal, while their defensive failings have been ruthlessly exploited.
Despite those issues, Salah still believes United present a formidable proposition for Liverpool, shutting down suggestions their encounter could be an easy one for the visitors while pointing to Ten Hag s pedigree.
I don t look at this game like that, because they re still a top team with top players, the attacker told Sky Sports. They ve not had a great start, but they want to win against us.
So from my side, I have too much respect for them, and I m sure they want to fight with all they can to win that game as well. It s not going to be easy, and I m not thinking I m going to score one, two or three goals.
I know it s going to be a really tough game. They have top players, they have a top coach, so it s not going to be easy at all.
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Liverpool could be seven points behind champions Manchester City by the time they play on Monday, with Pep Guardiola s men visiting Newcastle United on Sunday in pursuit of a third straight win.
And even at this early stage, Salah acknowledges that would be a significant gap, even if he backs the Reds to recover.
It could be a little bit of pressure if we re seven points behind City, but I think it s too early to think about that, Salah said.
Last season, we were behind by about 10 or 11 points, and we came back. So, it s too early to think about that.
