Liverpool manager Arne Slot has enjoyed a record-breaking start to his tenure at Anfield but has been measured in his response as he says they have yet to face a top side, although that is all about to change with the visit of in-form Chelsea.
Dutchman Slot, the first Liverpool manager to win nine of his first 10 games in charge, must now steer the leaders through a tough schedule, with a gruelling run of 10 games in three competitions that could go a long way to shaping their season.
Liverpool have 18 points after seven games, having scored 13 goals and conceded two, to stand a point ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal, while Chelsea are fourth on 14. “I looked at the league table and ‘OK, which teams did we face until now and which position are they? Are they in the top half or the bottom?'” Slot said of the schedule so far. “There are a lot of difficult teams we still have to face … let’s see where we are then when it comes to conceding goals because maybe the fixture schedule has been ‘nice’ to us when you see the league table.”
Chelsea have won all three of their league games on the road this season by a combined score of 10-2. Liverpool’s gruelling stretch of matches, which includes a trip to Arsenal on Oct. 27 and the visit of Manchester City on Dec. 1, is lousy timing considering first-choice goalkeeper Alisson is expected to miss most of it.
The Brazilian is set to be sidelined with a hamstring injury until the league game at Southampton on Nov. 24. Slot, however, is confident his number two, Ireland international Caoimhin Kelleher, can fill in seamlessly. “Alisson is our clear number one,” the 46-year-old Dutchman said.
“(He is) the best goalkeeper in the world so it’s always a blow when he gets injured. But in almost every position we have a second option that is also really good. “Caoimhin Kelleher has already shown that.”
In another must-see game, Manchester United host Brentford amid continued speculation around the future of manager Erik ten Hag. Many thought the beleaguered Dutchman might not last beyond the international break, with his team languishing in 14th.
United did, however, bounce back from a horrible 3-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford to draw 0-0 at high-flying Aston Villa to give him some respite before the break. Arsenal visit Bournemouth on Saturday with questions around the fitness of Bukayo Saka, who started England’s Nations League game against Greece on Thursday but suffered a hamstring injury which saw him taken off early in the second half.
The winger travelled back to London for further assessment, missing England’s game away to Finland on Sunday. Manchester City hope to have Kevin De Bruyne back for their trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, with a hamstring problem having sidelined the midfielder for the past month. Manager Pep Guardiola has said the injury was “not a big issue,” although De Bruyne did not feature in Belgium’s Nations League games after asking not to be called up.
At the other end of the table, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves are still without a league win this season. Ipswich have the best chance of ending that streak on Saturday when they host Everton, who are a point above them.
