The fickle nature of football strikes again.
One week after Liverpool supporters were understandably steeped in doom and gloom following a brutal defeat away to Bournemouth, the Reds responded in emphatic fashion with a scintillating 4–1 win over Newcastle—showing rare resilience by rallying after conceding first, something that has been hard to come by this season.
As such, those three points against the Magpies, earned amid a fiercely contested race for European qualification, could prove pivotal in refocusing Arne Slot’s side on finishing the season strongly—particularly with it increasingly likely that the number of English teams in Europe will rise from four to five next campaign.
With much to play for domestically, what could Liverpool's next five results in the Premier League look like?
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
Up first, the Reds host their longstanding Mancunian rivals at Anfield in a fixture that will feel must-win for both sides.
Liverpool enter the weekend sitting sixth and outside the Champions League places, regardless of whether England earns an additional qualification spot, while Manchester City are under mounting pressure to keep pace with Arsenal in a title race that appears to be slipping further out of reach.
Both teams will approach this clash knowing that anything less than three points could prove damaging.
City’s recent failure to win a match with a 2–0 lead against Tottenham, their first such collapse since 2018, only heightens the stakes for Pep Guardiola’s side, who will be doing everything they can to keep the pressure on the Gunners.
For Liverpool, beyond their place in the table, pride will be something they'll look to get back, eager to atone for a miserable 3–0 defeat at the Etihad earlier this season in which little went right.
Encouragingly for the Reds, their form has improved significantly since that November meeting. That loss left Liverpool with eight defeats in 11 matches, but they have since lost just once in their last 16, a clear shift from the side that travelled to Manchester.
Still, meetings between Liverpool and City have long been defined by parity. With six league draws between the sides since 2018 and both teams playing with urgency, those competing pressures may once again cancel out—pointing toward another hard-fought CityPool draw.
Prediction: Liverpool 1, Man City 1
Sunderland vs. Liverpool
Next, the Reds travel to the North East to face Sunderland, the only side yet to lose a home match in the Premier League this season.
The Black Cats have been the clear class of the promoted sides this season, incredibly sitting eighth after many expected them to be sent straight back down.
While Liverpool’s inability to beat Leeds and manage just one win against Burnley is confounding, it does put the previous draw with Sunderland into better context.
This time around, a trip to the Stadium of Light should feel genuinely daunting.
However, I’m strangely confident that Liverpool can claim a win against a side that seems ripe for a home slip-up, largely thanks to the uptick in form of one player in particular: Florian Wirtz, who has served as the primary cog in Liverpool's attacking machine for weeks now.
Before hitting his current hot streak—scoring six goals and providing three assists in his last 10 matches—Wirtz, still goalless when these two sides met at Anfield, had delivered his most encouraging performance to date, most importantly creating the shot that led to Sunderland’s own-goal equalizer.
Régis Le Bris’ squad struggled immensely against the German before his resurgence in form and confidence.
Last time, he completed six successful dribbles, executed all seven of his long balls, had three shots on target, and created three big chances against them; imagine what he could do now with that confidence fully intact?
I’ve been a big admirer of what Sunderland have achieved this season, but coming off a draw with City, I expect the Reds to come ready to play and hand the Black Cats their first home defeat after an otherwise impressive run.
Prediction: Sunderland 1, Liverpool 2
Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool
Just as they’ll be eager to atone for a frustrating loss to City and their struggles against promoted sides this season, Liverpool will be seeking revenge on the team that delivered arguably their most humiliating Premier League defeat in ages—a 3-0 loss at Anfield to Nottingham Forest in November.
Slot's men completely fell apart in the second half of that match, conceding just after halftime to allow Forest to double their lead and extinguish hopes of a comeback.
It was no fluke either—Sean Dyche’s side outshot the Reds on target 7-3, an inexcusable stat to post at home.
Even with the advantage of an Anfield meeting having already passed—and with the Reds having failed to win at the City Ground last season—there’s still reason to believe they can claim all three points in this contest.
Despite Dyche showing signs of a turnaround after Ange Postecoglu's miserable tenure, the reality is that Forest still sit in 17th place.
As the season passes the halfway mark, anxiety about relegation should inevitably be creeping through the club, and the Reds should look to take full advantage of that.
The main issue when these two sides last met was Liverpool’s shambolic defending, particularly from Ibrahima Konaté, who was repeatedly exposed whenever Forest mounted an attack.
Now, the Frenchman looks like that performance may as well been a lifetime ago, as Ibou posted a colossal performance against Newcastle, and hopefully the spirit and fight he showed in that match will carry him through the rest of the season.
It might seem overconfident to expect Liverpool to completely turn things around against a side that crushed them last time, but given the markedly different mood around Merseyside since then, I’m backing the defense to tighten up and help secure a win.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1, Liverpool 3
Liverpool vs. West Ham
After facing the 17th-place team, the Reds will head into a reverse fixture against 18th-place West Ham further down the table.
The last time these sides met, Liverpool—reeling from three straight losses—clinched a 2-0 win on the road in London, sparking a much-needed 13-game unbeaten run. I expect it to be even tougher for the lowly Hammers at Anfield this time around.
Even amid their previous brutal run of form, the Reds made their last outing against West Ham look effortless, holding the Hammers to zero shots on target despite having conceded seven goals across the two prior games.
Another notable aspect of that fixture was how well Alexander Isak—still regaining full fitness and settling into life at Liverpool—performed, as the Hammers gifted him his first Premier League goal for the Reds. West Ham will need all the help they can get in containing his strike partner, Hugo Ekitike.
Ekitike's performance against Newcastle was incredible, as he was directly responsible for putting the Reds ahead after they had conceded first.
His second goal, in particular, was something out of a video game as he used the outside of his boot to produce one of the finest finishes you’re likely to see.
If Isak and Cody Gakpo—who’s struggled to produce in recent games—exposed the Hammers’ defense on the road, they might just give Ekitike a chance to net his first Anfield hat-trick.
Simply put, they’re a side Liverpool has consistently racked up goals against over the years, as emphatically demonstrated by last season’s 5-0 thrashing at their ground. There’s not much need to overthink this one—I’m expecting another comfortable win for Liverpool.
Prediction: Liverpool 4, West Ham 0
Wolves vs. Liverpool
If there’s no need to overthink West Ham, attention will need be paid to Wolves—even with the Wanderers sitting dead last in the table.
Despite being destined to crash out of the Premier League, Wolves have long been a tricky opponent for Liverpool, with the Reds often needing last-minute winners and razor-thin margins to get past the lowly side. I have a feeling this trip to Molineux will feel much the same.
The Reds seemed to switch off after scoring twice in quick succession to lead 2-0 at halftime last time out, and Wolves were clearly the better side in the second half, scoring the only goal after the break and consistently threatening to equalize.
If there’s one thing that has undone Liverpool this season, it’s overconfidence: Szobo’s backheel against Barnsley and penalty miss versus Burnley, Salah’s recent tendency to over-finesse easy chances. For whatever reason, the Reds have often played like invincibles rather than a team sitting in sixth place.
With Wolves all but certain to be relegated, I genuinely believe they’ll be desperate to give their fans something to cheer for in every remaining home match.
Given the wonderfully unpredictable nature of football, I can envision a scenario in which a Liverpool team I predicted to breeze past their last two matches against weak opponents ends up floundering against one of the worst sides in Premier League history.
It won’t be a loss, but I expect a draw that feels like one. Liverpool will take a point on the road to get their current unbeaten stretch to seven games, and, much like the disappointment against Bournemouth, I think it will serve to refocus them for the final stretch as they push to finish in the top four or five.
Prediction: Wolves 1, Liverpool 1