Preview: Liverpool face Eredivisie leaders PSV in the Champions League
Liverpool are once again hoping to use the Champions League as a springboard to get their 2025/26 campaign back on track as they host PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.
By Sam McGuire
Match context
The Reds started the season with seven wins from seven across all competitions. They went five for five in the Premier League, dominated Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and defeated Southampton in the Carabao Cup, all without really breaking a sweat.
Everything was expected to click for the Reds once new signings had bedded in.
Yet since that 2-1 win over Southampton in September, Arne Slot’s side have lost eight of 11 across all competitions. They’re already out of the Carabao Cup and find themselves 11 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Big money signings Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz are all struggling to perform for the Reds, Mohamed Salah isn’t being properly utilised while Dominik Szoboszlai, the team’s best player this term, is being used as a utility player by Slot.
PSV, meanwhile, are leading the way in the Eredivisie. A shock defeat in August to Telstar was nothing more than a blip. Peter Bosz’s side are first for average FotMob rating (7.28) and they top the charts for goals per match in the Dutch top-flight with 3.2.
In Europe, they haven’t quite been as dominant.
A loss to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise was followed up with a draw against Leverkusen. They then dismantled Serie A title holders Napoli 6-2 before only managing to draw with Olympiakos.
They seem to scale their game against better opposition and that should worry Liverpool.
Key Players
For Liverpool, it is probably former PSV star Cody Gakpo.
He divides opinion but he continues to be the only reliable threat in the attack for the Reds. The Dutch international leads the way for Expected Goals within the team this term. Gakpo scored when the two sides faced last season and with Wirtz carrying a knock, the likelihood is that the No. 18 gets the nod against his old team on Wednesday.
For the visitors, it’s tough to pick between Guus Til and Joey Veerman.
Til ranks second for goals in the Dutch top-flight this season with nine but he’s yet to get off the mark in Europe, though he does have an assist. Veerman, meanwhile, has been a creative force for Bosz’s men. He has six assists and five goals this term and assisted against Napoli.
Team News
The visitors are without Alassane Pléa and Ruben Van Bommel for the trip to Merseyside but otherwise Bosz has a full squad of players to pick from.
Liverpool are without Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni. Wirtz could be back after missing the defeat to Nottingham Forest but Slot isn’t going to risk his No. 7.
Prediction
Surely Liverpool can’t lose another game. As Paul Joyce of UK newspaper The Times said on Monday, the pressure isn’t on Slot just yet but the team cannot keep losing. A win is desperately needed. A good performance is desperately needed. So, we’re going with a 2-1 Liverpool victory.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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