Liverpool: How 'football week of all football weeks' will define Reds' season

Liverpool face three games in a little over a week that will shape their season - starting with Saturday's trip to champions Man City - but they have an assortment of problems to solve if they want to qualify for next season's Champions League.

The Reds' last Premier League outing before the international break was their 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Bournemouth, an anaemic performance coming against a team they had beaten 9-0 earlier in the season.

That surprise loss also came on the back of a five-game unbeaten league run, including a record-breaking 7-0 home thrashing of Man Utd the week before, which appeared to breathe new life into their faltering season, leaving fans and manager Jurgen Klopp scratching their collective heads as to just how the same set of players could produce two such contrasting displays.

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But that setback on the south coast sums up Liverpool's disjointed campaign so far, one that sees them out of every cup competition and hanging on to hopes of a top-four finish - and with it a place back in next season's Champions League - by their fingernails.

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The problem for Klopp is his side now face "the football week of all football weeks", as he put it, beginning with a Saturday lunchtime rendezvous with City at a venue where Liverpool have only won once in the top flight under the German, and that was back in 2015, while they have also failed to win any of their 12.30pm kick-offs this season.

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That is then followed by an equally tricky looking visit to a revitalised Chelsea team on Tuesday night, before they finish up by hosting league leaders Arsenal a week on Sunday - with both games live on Sky Sports - as the Reds look to keep pace with Tottenham and Newcastle in the race for the top four.

Ironically then, a year on from going head to head with City for the league, Liverpool will once again play a key role in the title race with games coming up against the champions and the leaders, just not quite how their fans imagined it at the start of the season.

It’s going to be very defining and that’s something we all know.

And when asked to describe their next three fixtures, be it the manager, players, fans or anyone associated with the club, they have all used one word and that is "defining".

One real concern for Liverpool is the looming challenge from a revitalised Newcastle, who have recovered from a recent sticky patch to win their last two league matches.

If the Magpies, who lead the Reds by five points, were to beat Man Utd, West Ham and Brentford in their next three outings, then that would put huge pressure on Klopp's team to get results against City, Chelsea and Arsenal or face the very real prospect of being out of the top-four race come April 9.

Then there is the undeniable issue of Liverpool's away form this campaign, with the 'Mentality Monsters' that lost just twice on their travels in the whole of last season having already suffered seven away league defeats - incredibly, they have picked up fewer points on the road than bottom-of-the-table Southampton.

It is something Klopp is only too aware of.

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"Concerned, yeah," he said after their latest away defeat at the Vitality. "I see it. With the home games, I think we are top four. With away games, we are not even in Europe. There's always a reason for the situation we are in.

"We could have had more points at home as well, and maybe should have, but away, definitely. That was a big strength of us in the last years, it made a big difference, but that's how it is when you are successful.

"When you do things consistently, in the right way, with the quality we have, you have a good chance to get away results as well, but this is not happening often enough. It's a clear point, to be honest, yes."

With the home games, I think we are top four. With away games, we are not even in Europe. There's always a reason for the situation we are in.

For Liverpool to close the gap on Spurs and Newcastle and grab fourth spot, they will need to produce the sort of finish they managed two seasons ago when they were in a similar hole to now.

On that occasion, Klopp's side won eight of their last 10 league matches to claim an unlikely third place in the table, but whether this team has the confidence to produce such a winning run is open to question.

In fact, consistency has been a real issue for them this season, with the team managing to follow up impressive home wins over Man City and Man Utd with morale-sapping defeats at struggling Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.

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So much so that, to date, their longest unbeaten league run is just the five games they managed in February and March, with former Reds defender Stephen Warnock observing: "This is not the Liverpool of last year or two years ago where the mentality was so strong that if they went a goal up, you thought no other team is going to score against them, they were that strong."

A lot of comparisons have been made this campaign with Liverpool's 2020-21 struggles, when heading into April they were also outside the top four and in danger of missing out on Europe's premier club competition.

That season, the Reds could not win at Anfield while also struggling against the 'big' teams, whereas it is the opposite this time around with Klopp's side having the third-best home record, where they have lost just once all season, including impressive wins over City, United and Newcastle.

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In contrast they have lost to Leeds, Forest, Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford and Wolves, while it is also the first time since 2010/11 they have not beaten any of the three promoted teams on the road.

"Arsenal and Man City, those are the games that do not worry me as a Liverpool fan," said Warnock.

"I know they got thumped by Real Madrid (5-2 at Anfield), but I still fancy them as it is almost as if they realise what they are going up against so the concentration levels go up and there is not that complacency against teams like that.

Arsenal and Man City, those are the games that do not worry me as a Liverpool fan.

"Against Arsenal and City, you would not go into that thinking, they are not going to win that game. They can easily win those games and that is the big problem they are having at the moment."

The concern for Reds supporters, and Klopp, then is which Liverpool will we see in the next three games?

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the Merseysiders, who have virtually a fully-fit squad to pick from for the trip to the Etihad, including Colombia forward Luis Diaz, who has finally made his long-awaited return from a knee injury and could even now feature on the bench on Saturday.

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If Liverpool can get results in these next three fixtures, then they face a favourable nine-game run, on paper at least, with which to finish the campaign, including a potentially decisive home encounter with Spurs on April 30, live on Sky Sports.

Equally, though, if a week is a long time in politics, then the next few days will seem like an eternity for Klopp and his players should they slip up against City, Chelsea and then Arsenal.

Liverpool's remaining fixtures…

April 1: Manchester City (A) - Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

April 4: Chelsea (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

April 9: Arsenal (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

April 17: Leeds (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

April 22: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

April 26: West Ham (A) - Premier League, kick-off 7.45pm

April 30: Tottenham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

May 3: Fulham (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

May 6: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

May 13: Leicester (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 20: Aston Villa (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 28: Southampton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Watch Chelsea vs Liverpool on Sky Sports Premier League on Tuesday from 7pm; kick-off 8pm & Watch Liverpool vs Arsenal on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday April 9 from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm

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