Manchester United smell blood as Arne Slot’s Liverpool search for lost rhythm

It’s been a long time since Liverpool fans approached a home clash with Manchester United feeling this uneasy, with Arne Slot facing the first real test of his fledgling Anfield reign.

Three straight defeats across all competitions have stripped away the early-season optimism from a mammoth spending spree that brought some of the world’s most desirable football talent to the champions.

Suddenly, there are cracks all over the show – some of Slot’s own making, it must be said – with some of the stalwarts of last season’s title-winning campaign looking jaded, while one of the new puzzle pieces is still trying hard to prove his worth.

There is also a growing recognition of the role that Trent Alexander-Arnold played in Liverpool’s attacking blueprint, with Mo Salah becalmed down the right without Trent’s passing wizardry and unusually wasteful, as criticism of the ‘Egyptian King’ mounts.

Salah is not alone, though, with Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo also singled out for below-par performances that are a far cry from last season’s heroics. Even Ryan Gravenberch has been all too easily bypassed as the midfield anchor.

While a lot of their struggles can be put down to Slot’s need to accommodate Wirtz in the system and wholesale changes to the team, never mind the debilitating loss of Diogo Jota, the trend is worrying.

The two new defensive additions have also failed to cover themselves in glory, as the Liverpool backline remains over-reliant on skipper Virgil van Dijk staying fit and looks increasingly brittle. What poor Joe Gomez has done to earn the manager’s mistrust to such an extent that a midfielder is slotted into the backline while he stews on the bench, heaven alone knows.

In another bizarre twist, one of the Reds’ most consistent players so far this season, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, has also been forced to cover at right-back. Slot clearly has trust issues.

It’s no wonder, then, that Liverpool’s fiercest rivals will be licking their lips at the prospect of igniting an up-and-down campaign of their own on Sunday.

Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils have won two of their past three games, and while that hardly signals a title charge, it’s enough to make them dangerous. It’s telling that they saw off a Chelsea side that beat the Reds with third- or fourth-string players.

There’s a new sharpness about them, a hint of belief that’s been missing for months, with striker Benjamin Sesko finally looking the part. In veteran Bruno Fernandez they also possess a player able to rise to the big occasion, and there are few bigger than a trip to a packed Anfield for the Red Devils.

Liverpool’s biggest battle this weekend might not be against United – it may be with themselves. The fluency and fluidity that defined their play last season have deserted them. Passes are slower or misplaced altogether, movement less instinctive and predictable, and the press that once suffocated opponents now looks hesitant.

They also typically struggle against the low block, which is a defensive tactic Amorim is likely to employ.

Slot's tactical nous is being questioned, as is his persistence with players woefully out of form, which is robbing the team of the rhythm Anfield thrives on.

United, by contrast, finally look like they are enjoying their football again. Amorim has brought structure, and players who seemed lost under the previous regime suddenly look alive. They’re not without flaws – defensive lapses remain, and consistency is still a work in progress – but there’s an edge to their game that Liverpool will underestimate at their peril.

Of course, form often counts for little in this fixture, and it’s worth noting that all three recent Liverpool defeats came on the road … and that they are still second in the log table despite all this talk of a ‘crisis’.

Anfield has a way of stirring Liverpool into life, and United have a history of flattering to deceive just when hope begins to flicker. But if ever there was a time for United to puncture the aura of Anfield, this might be it.