After being shamed, not once, but twice in the space of five days at Anfield, the defending champions stands on the precipice of a crisis. As we look ahead to West Ham vs Liverpool on Sunday, the visitors’ worrying record in London makes for a bad omen.
Following a humiliating result against Nottingham Forest where the visitors comprehensively strolled to a 3-0 victory last Saturday, PSV only compounded Liverpool’s misery in midweek, dispatching four goals to leave them 13th in the Champions League table.
The resulting chorus of boos ringing Anfield at full-time was but a glimpse at the growing frustration feeding its way around Merseyside.
Liverpool’s Recent Form Shows Little Signs of Improving
After six defeats across their previous seven league matches, Liverpool have an opportunity to bounce back in Gameweek 13, against a side just about keeping their heads above water, albeit on goal difference.
The Reds have already conceded 15 goals and scored just seven during that period. This has left the champions languishing in 12th, already 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, who have lost only one of 12 matches this campaign.
A scenario no one could have foresaw after steamrolling their title rivals last season, they now find themselves positionally closer to the relegation zone than they are to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
The gap between 18th-placed Leeds and Liverpool stands at seven points, while the gap to the current 2025/26 early-season title-challengers is 11. However, it is worth mentioning Liverpool are only three points behind Aston Villa in 4th position, who occupy the final Champions League qualification spot.
Despite lifting the Reds’ first domestic league title since 2019/20, the pressure on Slot could reach breaking point if they lose to West Ham. A seventh defeat in eight league matches for the club, come Sunday, could result in a P45 being handed to the Dutchman.
Why Are Liverpool Struggling to Find Form?
It is difficult to grasp quite why defending champions Liverpool are in free-fall.
When a player as influential as Mohamed Salah is missing in games, you lose a Golden Boot-level amount of goals and potentially match-winning moments. It wasn’t just the back of the net the Egyptian Pharaoh was finding; he also provided 18 assists last season.
Compare that to only four goals and two assists across the current campaign. After the same number of games played last season, he had already netted 10 goals and contributed six assists.
At the opposite end, captain Virgil Van Dijk and his normally well-marshalled and disciplined defence have already conceded 20 goals, which makes for grim reading compared to only nine throughout the first 12 matches of 2024/25.
Taking to Instagram to post a defiant message, Van Dijk is adamant Liverpool will soon find their footing.
“We’re facing one of the toughest moments of our journey, but we refuse to let this define us. We will rise from this. I believe in this team with everything I have. Nothing has ever been handed to us – we’ve fought for everything, and this moment is no different”.
”We won’t give in. Won’t give up. Every challenge is an opportunity. We must grow together, lift each other up, and show the strength that lies within us. To the fans, keep supporting us. We all need each other more than ever!”
West Ham vs Liverpool H2H Record Bodes Well For Arne Slot
One positive line of encouragement for Liverpool is that West Ham have only triumphed in one of the previous 18 head-to-head meetings in the Premier League.
A demoralising 14 defeats and three draws bodes well for the visitors, but Liverpool’s scarcely believable downfall shows anything is possible.
That win came eight matches ago in November 2021, when the Hammers emerged victorious 3-2, incidentally, in front of their home support.
Nevertheless, Liverpool did the double over West Ham last season, winning 2-1 at Anfield, but more notably, they put on a five-star display at the London Stadium in December, as five different scorers netted on a dismal day for West Ham.
Liverpool’s Worrying Recent Record in London
Liverpool’s fortunes in the capital have not been kind since, however, losing each of their last five away league games against London sides.
With Mo Salah and Alexander Isak misfiring, Slot’s latest Liverpool injury update only rubs salt in the wounds as Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz are both doubtful for Sunday’s match. Long-term injury casualties Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni will definitely miss the game in London.
The hosts are not faring even worse than Liverpool this term, although a recent uptick in form – which has seen them win their last two and unbeaten in three – may propel them into this fixture with renewed confidence, particularly against a team with very little of their own.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have conceded the second-highest number of goals this season (25), with only bottom-of-the-table Wolves conceding more (27).
With Liverpool looking less likely to defend their Premier League title with every passing week, the Hammers are also playing their own game of risk. If they continue to travel down the wrong path, they could be staring down the barrel at a first relegation since finishing 20th in 2010/11.
