Liverpool Seeking Reset After Brutal Run
Liverpool’s title defence under Arne Slot has gone from commanding to chaotic, and the 3-0 defeat at Man City felt like another sharp reminder of how quickly a campaign can unravel. It was their fifth league defeat in six, which is more than they suffered across the whole of last season, and the gap to Arsenal is now eight points. Even so, the conversation hosted by Dave Davis for Anfield Index featuring David Lynch offered a measured look at what lies ahead and why the post-break schedule may represent an overdue opportunity.
Fixture Landscape Showing a Possible Route Forward
No run of results this damaging comes with simple explanations, yet few teams emerge unscathed from the Etihad. Lynch captured that realism when he said, “Liverpool still have to take confidence from what they did against Aston Villa and Real Madrid and let’s acknowledge that it was Man City away and, other than Arsenal, you’re not going to face many harder fixtures.”
It is a fair starting point. Liverpool have been forced to absorb difficult away fixtures early in the campaign and the accumulated strain has been clear. Lynch also noted, “They have been due a run of easier fixtures because the start to the season and the tricky away games they’ve had, it has been really tough.”
Now that run arrives. Nottingham Forest at Anfield begins a sequence that includes PSV, Sunderland, Brighton and Wolves at home, plus Leeds away twice. Inter Milan away and Tottenham Hotspur away are the standouts for difficulty, yet the broader pattern is far more forgiving than anything Liverpool have seen so far.
Liverpool’s next ten fixtures:
Nottingham Forest (H)
PSV (H)
West Ham United (A)
Sunderland (H)
Leeds United (A)
Inter Milan (A)
Brighton (H)
Tottenham Hotspur (A)
Wolves (H)
Leeds United (H).
Key Players Needing Rhythm and Influence
Momentum is the intangible Liverpool have lacked. The next ten games give them a chance to rediscover it, provided they avoid further injuries during the break, as Lynch stressed: “You just hope there’s no further injuries during the break and they can look to go again.”
Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak remain central to the medium-term plan, and their adaptation curve has proven predictable rather than alarming. Lynch reinforced that view by saying, “You hope that we see more of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak and the rest of the summer signings but around the turn of the year is when you want to start seeing the best of them.” Slot will need their technical quality and ability to break compact blocks as opponents begin to respect Liverpool less.
Momentum Building Into Crucial Winter Period
Liverpool’s schedule brings five home games in the next nine. As Lynch warned, “Five home games in the next nine, some gentle games but if there’s a few negative results in there then you do start to panic over what’s happening.” That is the central tension. The opportunity is unmistakable, but the margin for error is narrowing.
The objective is clear and Lynch articulated it sharply: “That’s got to be the aim now, to build some momentum into the festive period.”
With Arsenal stretching ahead and City showing their usual relentlessness, Liverpool’s margin for recovery is shrinking, but an inviting stretch of fixtures gives Slot’s side a genuine chance to reset their season. Whether they seize it will reveal much about the resilience of a squad that only months ago lifted the Premier League title.
