Steven Gerrard spoke to the media on Monday afternoon ahead of Aston Villa's trip to Carrow Road tomorrow night.
The Aston Villa head coach was quizzed on a number of topics in the build-up to the game against Norwich City.
Here's what he had to say...
On team news...
“Marvelous Nakamba will miss the game through injury. He’s recently had an MRI scan which has confirmed a knee issue.
“He’ll be missing this side of Christmas for sure. He’ll go and see a specialist on Tuesday, and we’ll have a further update for you then.
“He’s certainly missing tomorrow night on the back of the game at Anfield.”
On the current COVID situation within the squad…
“We’ve got a couple of cases on the playing side and we’ve got a couple of cases, positive, on the staff side. Due to medical confidentiality, I’m not going to reveal any names
“It’s obviously not what we wanted, but we’ll have to deal with the situation and adapt. From a playing point of view, there will be opportunities for other people to come in and help us.
“We’ll try and prepare in the best way we can for tomorrow night’s game. We wish the people well who’ve had positive tests.”
On Emiliano Buendia…
“He’s a fantastic talent. I’m really happy to work closely with him – I think our system suits him really well.
“He’s had a couple of knocks over the last three or four sessions, so we have tried to manage his load. The idea was always to have him fresh and ready for this game.
“He’s trained extremely well this morning. We believe he can keep growing and evolving as a player. I’m excited to keep working with him moving forward, and there’s a big role for Emi to play.
“When he’s at his best, everyone knows he’s very inventive, creative and he can score goals. I’m sure he’s looking forward to this fixture.”
On Dean Smith…
When asked if he was happy Smith got the Norwich job so soon after leaving the club, Gerrard said: “It was certainly no surprise. A manager of that experience and the journey that he’s been on, it was certainly no surprise that there were other people watching him and interested in his services.
“He’s proved over many, many years that he can coach at the top level. I said when I arrived that this wasn’t a case where we had to come in and rip everything up because there had been a lot of good work prior to me arriving, which we appreciate.
“We’re both in different situations than we were five weeks ago, but that’s football. I’ve got no doubts that he will continue to coach at the top for many, many years because he’s a top manager.”
On facing Norwich City…
“We’ve had time to analyse Norwich. Since Dean’s gone in, he’s had a new manager bounce and lift.
“They certainly look like they play with more possession and their performances have certainly improved.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game under the lights at Carrow Road. The manager we’re facing knows a lot about this group and the players individually.
“The advantage our side is these players know the manager they’re competing against, so there are pros and cons to both. We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow.
“It’s a big challenge, but this is a game that’s very different to Liverpool, with all due respect. It’s a game we want to be aggressive in and we’ll certainly try and show more ambition. We’ll need to perform extremely well to get points from the game.”
