FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Liverpool - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - January 14, 2025 Liverpool's Diogo Jota with Liverpool manager Arne Slot before coming on as a substitute Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo
(Reuters) - Liverpool forward Diogo Jota missed training and is a doubt for Saturday's Premier League clash against Brentford, head coach Arne Slot said on the eve of the match.
The 28-year-old Portugal international had only returned in December after recovering from an upper body impact injury, which he had picked up at the end of October.
Having come off the bench to rescue a point for Liverpool when they played high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday, Jota's absence would be a big blow for the Merseyside club, who top the Premier League standings with 47 points from 20 matches.
"No doubt about his importance for us but he wasn't training, so we have to see today where he is. It's not sure he is available tomorrow, we'll see today," Slot told reporters on Friday.
"He felt a little bit when he came in, a niggle during the half-hour he came in. He finished the game but complained a bit about it. We'll see for tomorrow."
Luis Diaz has a sore throat but Slot expected the 28-year-old Colombian forward to train.
Slot was solely focused on the task at hand and not getting distracted by the movements of rivals in the Premier League table.
"I look at the opponent for us... I have no other focus like when Arsenal or Chelsea plays or whoever," the Dutchman said.
"We are trying to get the best out of players, the staff and the players. These players know how long this season is and how good they have to be to win something, which is not something that happens every week.
"So we focus on a good session today and a good game tomorrow and the only way to get a result is to work on the best possible basis every day."
The leaders head to Brentford with a four-point cushion over second-placed Arsenal and a game in hand but they are wary of the threat posed by the Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium where they have scored 29 goals, more than any other team at home this season.
Brentford sit 11th in the table with 28 points from 21 matches.
Aside from a 4-0 win over lower-league Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup last week, Liverpool have struggled to keep teams at bay recently, conceding four goals in their last three matches across the Premier League and League Cup.
"I wouldn't say it's a concern but it's not what we want," Slot said when asked about the lack of clean-sheets. "One of our strengths was kept clean-sheets earlier on.
"Sometimes strikers have difficulties to score and if we look at the chances we give away before and now, I don't see many differences... so it is the life of a striker and the life of a defence."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
