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Liverpool vs. Manchester United: The most important game of Arne Slot era

Liverpool vs. Manchester United: The most important game of Arne Slot era

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The Reds have played in some huge Champions League matches under the Dutch tactician. They’ve played in a domestic cup final too. And, of course, they had high pressure games on their way to winning the 2024/25 Premier League title. But Sunday’s meeting with United is the biggest game of the Arne Slot era. That isn’t an exaggeration either.

By Sam McGuire

The Reds head into this on the back of three losses across the Premier League and Champions League. Not only that though, performances haven’t been great all season. While the champions initially eked wins out, they’re yet to put together a convincing win paired with a convincing showing. 

It had been viewed as a sign of champions. Liverpool had the ability to grind out wins against tough opposition. They kept finding different ways to win these games and the feeling was that once it clicked for the new-look Reds, they’d be unstoppable. That still might be the case but, for now, it hasn’t clicked and they’re no longer finding ways to win matches. 

The pressure is mounting. Understandly so, too. The Reds spent heavily in the summer to bring in Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. 

Injuries have stalled Frimpong’s start to life on Merseyside but the impression right now is that Slot favours Dominik Szoboszlai at full-back. Kerkez appears to be a shadow of the player he was during his time at Bournemouth. There’s also a bit of a conundrum in attack with Slot not yet having figured out how to get the best out of Wirtz or Isak. The Dutch tactician switched things up tactically in the loss to Crystal Palace and then started Wirtz on the bench against Chelsea. These sorts of decisions suggest the Liverpool boss isn’t really sure what to do with his embarrassment of riches in attack. 

Right now, there’s a lot of focus on the money spent by the champions this summer. Deals are, prematurely, being assessed and players are being unfairly judged. But all of this just adds to the pressure that is slowly building. 

The biggest issue, however, might be Mohamed Salah. 

The best player in the Premier League last season with 29 goals, 18 assists and an average FotMob rating of 8.0, looks lost in the current Liverpool team. Salah has just two goals and two assists this term. His FotMob rating of 7.03, an average that sees him rank seventh within the Liverpool squad. He’s gone from being the best in the league to not even being the best in the team. And it’s tied to the tactics being deployed by Slot. 

Combine all of this and it is clear why the pressure is mounting on the former Feyenoord boss. It is clear exactly why this is the biggest match of his career at Anfield. 

A reaction is expected following three losses. The Reds are on home turf. It’s a game that simply cannot be lost. It’s also the sort of game that could spark a season into life. This isn’t just three points at stake. A win, with a big, positive performance, can get things back on track for the champions. A loss could see them finish the weekend in sixth. 

With United being so poor defensively, it should, in theory, be a perfect chance for the attack to start firing. The Red Devils have conceded nine in their last five Premier League matches. They’ve kept just one clean sheet and that was in their last outing, a 2-0 win over Sunderland. Ruben Amorim’s men are one of just four teams to have an xG Against of 10 or more. 

It is exactly the sort of team Liverpool would want to face for a confidence boost. 

Isak is looking for his first Premier League goal for the Reds. Salah, who looked bright during the international break, is looking for his first open-play goal in the English top-flight since the opening day of the season.  Cody Gakpo, though he’s scoring, needs a performance. And Wirtz is still searching for his first goal or assist following his £100million move from Bayer Leverkusen. 

Amorim was one of the few Premier League managers last season to not make it into the Arne Slot penitentiary. The former Sporting boss held the Reds to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. The narrative from that game was that the United boss had the upperhand and tactically outmanoeuvred Slot. But the numbers just don’t back that up, with the Reds finishing with an xG of 2.82. Without the penalty, it was still an xG of 2.03. United, meanwhile, had an xG of 1.03.

A repeat performance would likely yield three points. While the pressure early on this season has been on Amorim, it is now Slot in dire need of a showing as well as a win. Get it right against the Red Devils and this could be the start of a new era for this Liverpool attack. To say this game is massive would be a gigantic understatement. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Liverpool vs. Manchester United: The most important game of Arne Slot era

The Reds have played in some huge Champions League matches under the Dutch tactician. They’ve played in a domestic cup final too. And, of course, they had high pressure games on their way to winning the 2024/25 Premier League title. But Sunday’s meeting with United is the biggest game of the Arne Slot era. That isn’t an exaggeration either.

By Sam McGuire

The Reds head into this on the back of three losses across the Premier League and Champions League. Not only that though, performances haven’t been great all season. While the champions initially eked wins out, they’re yet to put together a convincing win paired with a convincing showing. 

It had been viewed as a sign of champions. Liverpool had the ability to grind out wins against tough opposition. They kept finding different ways to win these games and the feeling was that once it clicked for the new-look Reds, they’d be unstoppable. That still might be the case but, for now, it hasn’t clicked and they’re no longer finding ways to win matches. 

The pressure is mounting. Understandly so, too. The Reds spent heavily in the summer to bring in Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. 

Injuries have stalled Frimpong’s start to life on Merseyside but the impression right now is that Slot favours Dominik Szoboszlai at full-back. Kerkez appears to be a shadow of the player he was during his time at Bournemouth. There’s also a bit of a conundrum in attack with Slot not yet having figured out how to get the best out of Wirtz or Isak. The Dutch tactician switched things up tactically in the loss to Crystal Palace and then started Wirtz on the bench against Chelsea. These sorts of decisions suggest the Liverpool boss isn’t really sure what to do with his embarrassment of riches in attack. 

Right now, there’s a lot of focus on the money spent by the champions this summer. Deals are, prematurely, being assessed and players are being unfairly judged. But all of this just adds to the pressure that is slowly building. 

The biggest issue, however, might be Mohamed Salah. 

The best player in the Premier League last season with 29 goals, 18 assists and an average FotMob rating of 8.0, looks lost in the current Liverpool team. Salah has just two goals and two assists this term. His FotMob rating of 7.03, an average that sees him rank seventh within the Liverpool squad. He’s gone from being the best in the league to not even being the best in the team. And it’s tied to the tactics being deployed by Slot. 

Combine all of this and it is clear why the pressure is mounting on the former Feyenoord boss. It is clear exactly why this is the biggest match of his career at Anfield. 

A reaction is expected following three losses. The Reds are on home turf. It’s a game that simply cannot be lost. It’s also the sort of game that could spark a season into life. This isn’t just three points at stake. A win, with a big, positive performance, can get things back on track for the champions. A loss could see them finish the weekend in sixth. 

With United being so poor defensively, it should, in theory, be a perfect chance for the attack to start firing. The Red Devils have conceded nine in their last five Premier League matches. They’ve kept just one clean sheet and that was in their last outing, a 2-0 win over Sunderland. Ruben Amorim’s men are one of just four teams to have an xG Against of 10 or more. 

It is exactly the sort of team Liverpool would want to face for a confidence boost. 

Isak is looking for his first Premier League goal for the Reds. Salah, who looked bright during the international break, is looking for his first open-play goal in the English top-flight since the opening day of the season.  Cody Gakpo, though he’s scoring, needs a performance. And Wirtz is still searching for his first goal or assist following his £100million move from Bayer Leverkusen. 

Amorim was one of the few Premier League managers last season to not make it into the Arne Slot penitentiary. The former Sporting boss held the Reds to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. The narrative from that game was that the United boss had the upperhand and tactically outmanoeuvred Slot. But the numbers just don’t back that up, with the Reds finishing with an xG of 2.82. Without the penalty, it was still an xG of 2.03. United, meanwhile, had an xG of 1.03.

A repeat performance would likely yield three points. While the pressure early on this season has been on Amorim, it is now Slot in dire need of a showing as well as a win. Get it right against the Red Devils and this could be the start of a new era for this Liverpool attack. To say this game is massive would be a gigantic understatement. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.