Contenders or pretenders: do Liverpool and Slot have what it takes?
After a favourable start, Klopp’s successor faces first proper test with seven tough games coming over the next 21 days
It cannot be media hype to herald Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on Sunday as the start of a defining period for Arne Slot’s Liverpool when Slot himself has been saying pretty much the same for more than a month. Are the early Premier League leaders the real deal? Their head coach remains unsure, although he’s certain he is about to find out.
The international break gave Slot opportunity for a mental break, as he put it, taking several days off to reflect on an almost perfect beginning to life at Liverpool and to recharge ahead of a schedule that will be both demanding and revealing. Seven games in 21 days – Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa in the Premier League, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, plus a trip to the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup – promise to give a measure of a team that has embraced its transition thus far.
