Liverpool's credentials face massive test over next eight game stretch

A 1-0 victory away at Crystal Palace last weekend continued Arne Slot’s excellent start as Liverpool manager.

The result at Selhurst Park marked Slot’s ninth win in ten matches with the Reds and keeps his side top of the Premier League until at least the next weekend, while victories over West Ham, AC Milan and Bologna have seen Liverpool progress in the League Cup and launch their Champions League campaign on a strong note. 

While Slot’s achievements as Feyenoord manager are certainly respectable, the position of Liverpool manager is a sizable step up in his career.

The weight of pressure on the Dutchman is even greater given that he directly succeeded Jurgen Klopp who departed Anfield in May having overseen the club’s most prosperous period in decades and guided it to every title possible at the club level.

Slot will have surely appreciated Klopp’s request that the Liverpool supporters get behind their new manager from the start before he took on the monumental task of replacing one of the now greatest icons in the Reds’ history.

On the right path

On the evidence of what Liverpool supporters have witnessed thus far, they can at least feel comfortable with their side’s direction under the Dutchman thus far.

While Slot’s more control-oriented approach is a departure from the direct, high tempo style of play under Klopp, its benefits have been visible in every area of the pitch. 

Save for their lone defeat of the season to Nottingham, the Reds have commanded the midfield for large portions of their matches and consistently threaten when they break into the final third.

At the back, they boast a formidable record of six clean sheets from their opening ten matches and have yet to concede more than one goal in a single match. 

However, whether Slot’s brand of football can deliver a similar level of success to that of his predecessor is impossible to estimate this early into his reign.

While Slot is off to an impressive start, Liverpool's schedule has not yet presented a serious challenge, a fact their manager himself acknowledged recently. 

Huge fixture challenges await

That will change quickly starting this weekend, when they welcome Chelsea to Anfield this Sunday. Chelsea have endured a difficult few years since Todd Boehly purchased the club in 2022, but will take much encouragement that they can break back into the top-four, where they sit currently, this season from the Premier League’s opening seven matches in which they’ve scored more goals than any side aside from City.

As secure as Liverpool’s backline has been this season, it will face its biggest test of the season so far when the two sides meet this weekend. 

Next after Chelsea is a tricky Champions League trip to Red Bull Leipzig, who sit second in the Bundesliga, followed by Arsenal at the Emirates, where two of Liverpool’s previous three visits have ended in defeat.

If Liverpool are to challenge for the league title again over the next seven months, their results against Arsenal and City could prove decisive.

As early in the season as the Reds’ visit to Arsenal comes, both will recognize the meeting as an opportunity to establish a valuable advantage early on. 

Result aside, how closely Liverpool can contest the Gunners at the Emirates will offer a strong indicator of whether they can claim, or at the very least, deny their opponents crucial points when they meet in the latter half of the campaign. 

Liverpool’s difficult stretch continues as they travel to Brighton in the League Cup before they host the Seagulls at Anfield.

Brighton currently sit sixth in the league and while on paper, they’re a tier below Chelsea and Arsenal, will likely prove a more formidable challenge than any of Liverpool’s opponents to date. 

It doesn’t get any easier as Liverpool then welcome last season’s unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield in the Champions League.

Leverkusen’s exceptional previous campaign sparked the Reds’ interest in their manager Xabi Alonso before the Spaniard announced that he would stay put at the German club for at least another season.

Slot will need to stress the importance of avoiding any defensive lapses as Leverkusen have been arguably the most dangerous team going forward in Europe over the past year.

The Reds' final clash ahead of the November international break comes at home to top-four hopefuls Aston Villa, another fixture unlikely to unfold in as straightforward a manner as most of their results have. 

The demanding weeks to come will test not only how fruitful Slot’s set-up will prove against a more challenging set of opponents, but the depth of Liverpool’s squad.

Liverpool will have to rotate and thus will depend on players who have not yet broken into Slot’s preferred first XI to step up as they are all certain to receive significant playing time in the immediate stretch ahead. 

The Arne Slot-era at Liverpool has begun on strong footing with the Reds top of the league and perfect in Europe.

The upcoming weeks will provide far greater insight as to whether their start was simply down to a lighter run of fixtures on paper, or the foundation for serious challenges for silverware throughout the campaign.