Liverpool's last couple of games in the Premier League have done little to ease the pressure on Arne Slot, and now with a big UEFA Champions League clash against Inter at San Siro looming, there's more unrest in the Liverpool camp. Mohamed Salah's outburst after the 3-3 draw against Leeds United on Saturday, had him accusing the club and Slot of throwing him under the bus. Inter, meanwhile, come into this game full of confidence after a 4-0 win over Como in Serie A at the weekend.
Where could this match be won (or lost)? Do the managers have any selection headaches? What must we watch out for?
How to watch?
The match will be telecast on Amazon Prime Video in the U.K. from 6.30 p.m.
Paramount+ will telecast the match in the U.S., JioStar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
What is Liverpool's response to Mohamed Salah?
It is because of that benching and subsequent non-usage of Salah that he vented his frustration out in the mixed zone at Elland Road on Wednesday evening. Ever since, reactions have been extreme, with former Liverpool players accusing Salah of being self-serving, and Wayne Rooney saying he has thrown Liverpool under the bus.
Now, whether or not these are Salah's last few days as a Liverpool player, it is an unnecessary distraction for Slot and the rest of the Liverpool squad, as they look to set about reviving a season that is increasingly looking like an unqualified disaster.
Liverpool will need a win away in Italy in this game, as they look to at least ensure that they will have European knockout football. With three league stage games left, Liverpool have nine points so far in the league stage. A win here would pretty much ensure that Liverpool will finish in the top 24.
However, against an Inter side playing excellent football, Liverpool will arrive distracted, with all the attention on Salah's comments and how Slot responds to them. Will that liberate some of the others, on whom there could well have been more heat? Can the likes of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike make Liverpool temporarily forget the Salah mess?
How do Liverpool contain Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram?
Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have once again been excellent, as they lead Inter Milan's title charge in Serie A. The duo have been a thorn for opposition defences throughout the season, and against a Liverpool side now completely bereft of confidence, they will fancy their chances of causing some real damage.
Martinez has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, while Thuram has scored six. Liverpool have conceded 36 goals in 22 games this season, an alarming stat for them, but one that Martinez and Thuram will look at and be encouraged.
Liverpool aren't dealing well with set-pieces, they aren't dealing well with counter-attacks, they're not winning enough duels, so in short, they're just not a good defensive team. Against what is perhaps Europe's best strike pairing, that is an alarming state for them to be in.
The big Ibrahima Konate question
All of Liverpool's issues are not down to the system, there has also been some poor defensive decision-making that has changed games. A huge example of that came at Elland Road on Saturday. Liverpool weren't exactly playing at their best but they were 2-0 up and they weren't facing a real threat from Leeds.
At that moment, Konate made the decision to tackle Willy Gnonto on the byline, when the ball was going nowhere. Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted the resulting penalty and that lifted Leeds and their crowd. They made it 2-2 soon after, and then Liverpool crumbled once again in injury time.
Slot admitted after the game that Konate had been "at the crime scene" a bit too often this season. It is one position where Slot has been reluctant to make any changes. Konate and van Dijk have started every game in the Premier League and Champions League so far this season.
With Slot admitting that Konate is a problem, will he make a change, with Joe Gomez slotting in at centre-back?
Liverpool aren't creating near enough and that has to change
The xG numbers tell a story for Liverpool this season. In the Premier League, they've created 22.74 expected goals from 181 shots in 15 games. That's an average of 0.12 xG per shot. So essentially, Liverpool take an average of 12 shots per game, and they don't take shot with high probability of scoring. With the talent they have in attacking areas, it is a travesty that they have struggled so much to create proper chances.
Even against Leeds, they were gifted the first two goals by some lax Leeds defending, even though they didn't really play too well until then.
One obvious change for Slot to consider is on the left wing. Cody Gakpo has had a tough time. He's cutting in and taking a number of shots, but hardly any in recent times have as much as made the opposition goalkeeper work. The only time this season that Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike started together, Liverpool scored five in the Champions League at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Perhaps, it's time for Slot to once again give that method a try. A front three of Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike could well be the tonic that Liverpool need at this dire stage of their season.
Inter's midfield should overpower Liverpool's
The likes of Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Piotr Zielinski and Petar Sucic have all played in Inter's midfield three this season, and have looked cohesive and competent in their structure. They work hard, press well, pass well, bring their forwards into play all the time, and in the case of Calhanoglu, take excellent set-pieces as well.
Liverpool's midfield, on the other hand, is a revolving puzzle with seemingly no solution. Curtis Jones has shown sparks of brilliance, while Dominik Szoboszlai has been a lone warrior too often this season. Ryan Gravenberch's defensive awareness and ability to pass forward has come under the scanner. Alexis Mac Allister has looked that inch too slow in critical moments, while Slot doesn't at all seem to trust Wataru Endo.
Inter's midfield will be licking their lips. Can Liverpool arrest the slide?