Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted he’ll be surprised if Marcus Rashford isn’t a hit during his loan spell at Aston Villa.
Slot, who confirmed Joe Gomez will be out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, takes his Premier League leaders to Villa Park on Wednesday night where they will face a rejuvenated Rashford on loan from Manchester United where he’s been frozen out by Ruben Amorim.
‘The first time I faced Marcus Rashford in real life was on our pre-season tour in the USA,’ said Slot.
‘I was really impressed how fast he is. He has a nice height and is comfortable with the ball. I hope for him he is going to show that at Villa but of course I am not hoping he does it against us.
‘I will be completely surprised if a player of this quality doesn’t show it in the upcoming months because he is a very good player.’
Rashford hadn’t featured in the Premier League for United since early December but came off the bench for Villa at half-time on Saturday and helped them fight back to draw 1-1 with Ipswich, setting up Ollie Watkins’ equaliser with a fantastic free-kick that hit the woodwork.
Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United at the start of the month
Rashford left Old Trafford after being frozen out by head coach Ruben Amorim
Arne Slot expects Rashford to shine at Villa between now and the end of the season
Liverpool could go 10 points clear by beating Villa but have stuttered in their last three games; getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth, drawing at Everton and then holding on to beat Wolves 2-1 on Sunday without having a shot on target in the second half.
Gomez and Cody Gakpo missed the weekend through injury and neither will return on Wednesday though Gomez’s issue is worse.
‘Neither are available for Villa,’ confirmed Slot. ‘Cody is quite close to being back, Joe is going to be out for a number of weeks because of a hamstring injury.
‘He will miss large parts of the end of the season but we expect him to be back in the end phase. He might need surgery but that’s something we have to assess.’
Gomez was taken off early in the defeat at Plymouth. ‘It’s a big blow for us but, first of all, for him because he tried to do everything to be with the team,’ added Slot.
‘He worked really hard to come back, then the first game he came back after two or three minutes, we saw him making a sprint and now he’s out for weeks again.
‘It’s always very hard for a player when that happens in any part of the season, let alone the part of the season everyone is looking forward to.’