Liverpool

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

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Only Wolves have earned fewer Premier League points than Liverpool over the past seven games but the Reds can at least take encouragement from their formidable recent home form in the Champions League.

They have won each of their past 13 games at Anfield in either the league or group stage of the competition. That is a record for a Premier League club and the longest such run currently ongoing in Europe, ahead of Arsenal (nine wins), Bayern Munich and Inter Milan (both six victories).

The Merseysiders' most reason home defeat in the opening phase was against Atalanta exactly five years ago, back when Covid restrictions meant no fans could attend, taking the Anfield atmosphere out of the equation.

However, this sequence does not include knockout ties and it is worth recalling eventual winners Paris St-Germain beat Liverpool on their own patch in last season's quarter-finals.

And, given the domestic struggles of Arne Slot's side, it is not entirely unthinkable that PSV could follow in the footsteps of PSG and claim their first win in England since 2008.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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By capitulating 3-0 at Anfield to struggling Nottingham Forest, Liverpool's form has gone from a bump in the road, to a short uphill struggle to now staring over the edge of an almighty precipice.

It is not yet a crisis, but they can certainly see it looming right in front of them. Being bottom half of the table is one thing, but being closer in points to the relegation places than they are to Arsenal at the top is an even more sobering thought.

Reds fans want to know one overriding reason; unfortunately dropping off a cliff so sharply is caused by more than one wrong turn.

‌However, the glaringly obvious cannot be ignored.

In previous seasons Mohamed Salah would often score a third of Liverpool's goals in the Premier League. He currently has four with almost a third of the season gone. That average of 23 league goals per campaign over the last eight years looks a long way off.

Salah four from 12 so far is a perfectly good return for a very good winger. He is still level with Pedro Neto and Iliman Ndiaye, while being just ahead of Bukayo Saka. That is not who he compares himself with however.

More importantly at this rate he would end up with 12 goals for the season, something Liverpool simply cannot afford to happen. It may be the club has been leaning on his genius - and to a degree that of Virgil van Dijk - even more than everyone thought.

‌Can they get out of the spiral? Absolutely yes, in fact I will be amazed if they are not back in the Champions League places by the start of the New Year.

It would help if Salah could start scoring again as well as the newbies - like Alexander Isak - if the unthinkable of failing to reach the Champions League is to be avoided.

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Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

In Arne Slot's first title-winning season, he showed the surest of touches.

Tweaks to the system, such as using Ryan Gravenberch in the number six role after a deal for Martin Zubimendi collapsed, and a more rigid structure worked to perfection after succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Changes from the bench were astute and successful.

It has not looked the same this term.

Liverpool's best wins of the season, two in succession against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, came with Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister setting the platform in midfield, along with Dominik Szoboszlai.

This surely gives a signpost to the way forward. Back to title-winning basics.

The injection of Florian Wirtz into an advanced role has left Liverpool looking unbalanced and vulnerable, not helped by the German's problems adapting.

It has also left Slot's thinking looking muddled.

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In among Liverpool's strife, Szoboszlai has been one of the better performers - but yet again he was pushed into an unaccustomed right-back role against Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool missed his energy in an insipid midfield display as Slot tries to plug a gap at right-back left by Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure and injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.

Slot's £70m re-fit at full-back has not worked. Frimpong, when fit, looks more like a wing-back on the right, while on the left Milos Kerkez has struggled.

Joe Gomez, experienced and who has played at right-back, was surely an option against Forest that would have allowed Szoboszlai to move into a more influential role.

Curtis Jones, who played against Forest, was even used as a right-back by England head coach Thomas Tuchel in the win away to Andorra in June.

Slot's substitutions against Forest felt like desperate rolls of the dice, not the game-changers of last season, throwing on Ekitike for defender Ibrahima Konate early in the second half.

Again it felt like Slot was struggling for solutions.

Sign Guehi? Drop Salah? Find out what else Phil thinks might help Slot

BournemouthTelegraph - subscription required, external

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is concerned about an over-reliance on Norway striker Erling Haaland, 25, so will consider rivalling Liverpool for the 25-year-old. (Talksport), external

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Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Uefa Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Joe Gomez will be available for selection again but is "not completely fit" after receiving a knee injection last week that kept him out of training before the defeat against Nottingham Forest.

• Dominik Szoboszlai remains an option at right-back with Slot confirming the Hungarian will definitely feature on Wednesday but confirmed "he can play in multiple positions so let's see where we'll use him".

• Slot "didn't have a problem" with Murillo's goal that stood at Anfield on the weekend, despite its similarity to Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal against Manchester City earlier in the month and is not seeking an explanation from the Premier League.

• He said: "If we would have had clarification for all of the decisions that went against us this season, then I probably wouldn't have time to manage our team anymore but to be fair. I think the first goal we conceded against Forest was a goal. I also think the one we scored at City was a goal."

• Liverpool have now lost six league matches but Slot believes it is bringing his squad together: "It is ridiculous. It is unbelievable. I have said many times you will never find enough excuses for us to perform like this. It's unexpected for the club, for me, for everyone. But this is maybe the best club to face it, the harder it gets at this club, the more we are together."

• The Dutchman also believes he is always having to prove himself, regardless of Liverpool's form: "It has nothing to do with a situation like this. Every day, you have to prove yourself at this level. You can't say 'I won a league' or anything like that."

• He continued: "You have to win the next game, for me and the players. That's the environment I like to work in. I don't know if I need to prove myself to the fans as well as I have to prove myself to myself."

• On facing PSV, Slot said: "I've played a lot against PSV as a player and manager. It's not a good opponent to have and they're probably better than ever. Maybe they didn't start that well in the first part of the season but, the last two to three months they are just a winning machine. Much more solid. I think this team comes close to the best he [PSV boss Peter Bosz] has managed. They're doing really well at the moment."

Is Arne Slot under pressure? That was the discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club as the panel reacted to Liverpool's 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest at Anfield - a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games.

"It is some collapse from Liverpool," said former top-flight striker Chris Sutton. "It would just seem so odd after winning the Premier League to end up sacking their manager, but it is getting to the stage where if this carries on then it is not impossible."

The Observer's football correspondent Rory Smith, who was at the game, added: "The title will buy Slot a lot of time and managing the Diogo Jota situation makes this whole season very difficult.

"Liverpool pride themselves on being run rationally, with a bigger picture in mind, but there does come a time when if you lose a lot of matches then your position obviously comes under scrutiny.

"I don't think we are there yet, but if Liverpool are 17th in March then I don't think Slot is immune from the conversation.

"The bigger issue is that I am not entirely sure he knows how to fix it. That is troubling.

"It felt like it was turning a little bit [at Anfield]. I don't think people's patience is infinite. It was a fairly chastening defeat."

Watch the full episode of Monday Night Club on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

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Former Premier League striker Wayne Rooney, discussing Liverpool's form and striker options on the latest episode The Wayne Rooney Show: "The new players coming in will be looking at the players from last season and thinking, 'oh they've just won the league' and probably feel a bit more pressure that they have to try to do... they probably want to try to prove that they are better than those players.

"There will be a bit more pressure, and obviously it's a big club, but I think Alexander Isak just needs a run of games.

"He just needs any type of goal to get him going and I'm sure he'll find a good run of form after that. But he'll be scratching his head. It's hard when you're going through a run of games and not scoring. You just have to try to keep everything simple."

"None of them [summer signings] have really paid off apart from Hugo Ekitike. If I was Ekitike, I'd be fuming if I wasn't playing."

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Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, 25, has told Real Madrid he does not intend to renew his contract which expires in the summer of 2027, because of a strained relationship with manager Xabi Alonso. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Liverpool, Manchester United and several other Premier League clubs are keeping a keen eye on Vinicius' situation. (Mirror), external

Meanwhile, the Reds have already held concrete talks over a move for Bournemouth and Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, and are aware of his £65m release clause. (Florian Plettenberg), external

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We asked for your views on what Arne Slot needs to change to get Liverpool back on track.

Here are some of your comments:

David: We have world-class individual players. What we don't have at the moment is a team. It is as though they have never met each other. Arne Slot needs to drill this into them in coaching days.

John: Liverpool have to sign Marc Guehi and move Ibrahima Konate on. Both full-backs are weak defensively but we are probably stuck with them for the time being. Possibly sign at least one full-back in January and Hugo Ekitike has to start up front.

Beattie: The simple solution to the right-back problem is to play Joe Gomez. He keeps things simple and doesn't disrupt the whole team. Slot tries to over-complicate things. Curtis Jones is not a full-back and is not good enough to start for the first team!

Ian: Since John Heitinga left to join Ajax, Liverpool haven't been so effective and these are big shoes for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to fill. They need to go back to basics to begin to show some improvement.

James: A third of the way through the season and Slot still doesn't know his best XI. He is playing proven players out of position to accommodate newbies who simply haven't performed. It was a mistake to buy Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz doesn't fit. Constant tinkering by the manager means he is losing the confidence of what should be key players.

Kevin: Slot needs to bench Mohamed Salah and get the team used to playing without him as he will be away at Afcon. As for Konate, we need to either sort his contract out or get rid as he's not helping the side. The next two games are decisive to see if Slot can turn the slump around.

It has not been the desired title-defending campaign Liverpool will have wanted.

In fact, with 18 points from 11 games, it is the Reds worst start to a season for three years.

Defending their title is looking less likely but there is no reason to believe this campaign is a complete write-off.

In 2022-23, Liverpool had just 16 points after 12 games and went on to finish fifth under Jurgen Klopp.

They will, however, have to start picking up points soon with the top eight looking fiercely congested at this point in the season.

Jordan Chamberlain
Fan writer

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We are nearly in December and Alexander Isak has yet to score a Premier League goal for Liverpool. In fact, his only effort to date came in the EFL Cup victory over Southampton, which was largely pointless given we sacrificed the next round by playing a team of kids anyway.

For a £125m striker, this is appalling. Yes, the Swede has missed some games through injury and is struggling to get fully fit, but Liverpool are partly to blame for this. We knew Isak had an injury record, and the fact he had to miss pre-season with Newcastle in order to force a transfer played its part.

Liverpool should have paid £125m for him earlier in the summer, and if Newcastle were not budging, simply bought a winger instead, given we had already secured Hugo Ekitike to play up top.

Isak was completely invisible against Nottingham Forest. He had just 14 touches of the ball before he was hauled off in the second half. He does not drop deep to find the ball and his team-mates never pass to him.

He used to thrive off balls in behind, but because everyone plays a low block against Liverpool, his biggest strength is negated. Isak has barely had a shot this season. He just stands up top waiting for something to happen, but he is not proactive with his movement or relentless with his off-the-ball defensive stuff.

It is not all his fault - not by a long shot. But £125m is an absurd amount of money to pay for a striker who is unfit and at the moment does not fit the team's style.

Arne Slot could be out of a job with two more losses this week.

Find more from Jordan Chamberlain at Empire of the Kop, external

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We asked for your views on Liverpool crashing to yet another defeat - this time 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: Lacked passion, creativity and organisation. I cannot remember turning the game off with 15 minutes to go, but these past two games have been horrible. Something needs to change quickly to make sure we don't lose sight of a top-four finish.

Simon: It's easy to say in hindsight, but perhaps there was just too much change in what was a title-winning squad of players. Trent was always going, and Jota's tragic death was not predictable and a huge loss. For the others, did we really need such a huge turnover of ins and outs? It reminds me of when Souness tore apart Dalglish's title-winning side in the early 90s and Liverpool slumped for years after.

Phillip: The biggest problem is they seem to be a man short when Curtis Jones plays. I'm sorry to single him out. Isak was a bad buy, and other players have to hold their hands up, namely Konate.

Bobby: At the moment, Liverpool can't beat an egg. Too weak in defence, and Salah reminds me of Torres when he lost all confidence. It's going to have to be someone with big shoes to sort this mess out.

Paul C: Insipid from Liverpool. At the very least, you expect players to work hard. Forest did, we didn't. Too many missed passes and weak challenges. Can't understand why Isak was on for so long and Ekitike was benched. He offered nothing.

John: High-profile, costly player purchases while disposing of true team players is probably the biggest factor. As for recruiting someone who had downed tools elsewhere - no comment.

Jonno: Slot won with Klopp's team and took the credit, and now he has failed to maintain it. We will see the true ability of Slot now. I am not very hopeful.

What are the main questions for Slot to answer?

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John Bennett
Final Score reporter at Anfield

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There are excuses like lack of match practice, lack of fitness and getting used to new team-mates, but it was still astonishing to see how far off the pace Alexander Isak seemed on Saturday.

I regularly covered Newcastle United games last season and, even when he was having quiet matches, it looked as if he could spring into action, in and around the box at any moment, and the stadium would be buzzing when he was on the ball, driving at goal.

Against Nottingham Forest though, he was unrecognisable from the prolific striker that played at St James' Park. You could have been forgiven for thinking he was not even on the pitch in the first half.

Even in a poor performance, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo had their moments, with dangerous runs and decent chances, but Isak struggled to make any impact.

Among the many issues that Arne Slot is facing right now, trying to get Isak up to speed must surely be near the top of the priority list.

Meanwhile, if you are Hugo Ekitike - one of the rare positives in a poor Liverpool season - you would be annoyed that Isak is starting ahead of you.

Hopefully, Isak shuts up the critics like me with plenty of goals in the next few weeks, but right now he is a problem that Liverpool have to solve.

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Former Liverpool goalkeeper David James it would not be a "bad season" if Arne Slot's side fail to defend their Premier League title but still pick up some other silverware.

Following Saturday's thumping by Nottingham Forest at Anfield, their sixth league defeat in seven games, some have labelled the Reds as in 'crisis' and pressure is building on head coach Slot.

The summer signings which broke British transfer records but have started slowly are also coming under scrutiny.

"Liverpool do not recruit for one season, they recruit for the future," said James on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast."I believe with the players they signed they can be good, but I was one of those that expected them to be fine from the get-go.

"The test for Arne Slot as manager is whether he can turn this around. Not winning the title this season doesn't make it a bad season.

"Comparatively it does compared with last season but he wasn't expected to win it last season.

"He has already ticked that box if we are looking at the broader picture. The Champions League now becomes more important and winning it would justify everything this season."

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Liverpool are preparing a record £140m bid for 21-year-old Portugal and Paris St-Germain midfielder Joao Neves. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Failure to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, 25, in the summer has left doubts in the England defender's mind and he is now willing to wait until the end of the season to confirm his future. (Alan Nixon on Patreon), external

The Reds have offered Ibrahima Konate a new contract but the 26-year-old France centre-back, whose current deal expires next summer, is yet to respond amid interest from Real Madrid. (Caught Offside), external

Finally Dayot Upamecano, 27, is out of contract at the end of the season, but Bayern Munich's France defender, who is being monitored by Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Liverpool, has distanced himself from a potential big-money January move to Chelsea. (Metro), external

Finally, Italy international Federico Chiesa could explore a move away from Anfield in January, with the Serie A quartet of Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma and AC Milan all keeping tabs on the 28-year-old winger. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Arne Slot is no longer trying to save Premier League champions Liverpool from a stumble.

Saturday's Anfield horror show at the hands of Nottingham Forest was a headlong fall into the abyss.

What most generously believed was a blip, based on the compelling evidence of Slot's first title-winning campaign last season, is now a full-blown crisis for Liverpool and their beleaguered head coach.

Chairman Tom Werner was at Anfield to witness a 3-0 loss to impressive Forest thanks to a performance as poor as anything seen at home in recent years.

No-one can suggest Slot's job is in immediate danger after his deeds following his succession to Jurgen Klopp, but such is this game's brutality that he is now under serious pressure to turn the tide that threatens to engulf Anfield.

Liverpool's manager, whoever it is, is always under pressure to win games. He is under even greater pressure and scrutiny when he loses six Premier League games out of seven. This is as many as in their previous 58.

They have lost two of their past three home league games, as many as in the previous 53.

The cloak of invincibility that Liverpool carried last season has been replaced by a soft - very soft - underbelly. And it has been there since the start of the season.

It takes some doing to spend £450m to make a Liverpool side that strolled to the title last season worse but, based on what has been produced so far, Slot and the club's recruitment team have achieved that feat.

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Rob Green join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Newcastle 2-1 Manchester City

• Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest

• Fulham 1-0 Sunderland