Liverpool Vs PSV Eindhoven: The Reds Fall, Root-witten Ready To Insult Anfield

Hugo Ekitike, has not found the best performance at Liverpool (photo; x @lfc)

JAKARTA - Liverpool faced serious threats when they host PSV Eindhoven on the fifth matchday of the Champions League, Wednesday night, November 26. The record of the meeting that has been favoring the hosts seems fragile, given the condition of the Arne Slot squad which is experiencing a sharp decline in domestic competition.

Liverpool have won all three home games before against PSV, but the situation this time is much different. The Premier League reigning champions are in their worst phase in recent years, opening up opportunities for PSV to undermine Anfield's dominance at the eighth meeting of the two teams in European competitions.

Liverpool's condition is declining drastically. The 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the end of last week extended the bad trend that had started since falling 3-0 at Etihad from Manchester City before the international break. The result plunged them into 11th place in the Premier League standings after 12 matches.

Liverpool's problems are evenly distributed across all lines. Alisson Becker's return was unable to prevent their goal from breaking three times in two consecutive league games, something that last happened in April 1965. Virgil van Dijk's defense was not solid, while Ibrahima Konate has yet to show his best focus amid contract talks that expire in 2026. On the left side, Milos Kerkez has not shown Liverpool's standard quality, and the right-back position is completely vacant after Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure to Real Madrid.

Dominik Szoboszlai, who appeared consistent since the start of the season, even had to be pulled into an emergency right-back position, weakening midfield. The attacking trio also had problems. Mohamed Salah has not scored in three consecutive matches, Alexander Isak has struggled to adapt since arriving from Newcastle, and Florian Wirtz has not found a performance in England.

Despite stumbling in the league, Liverpool are still stable in the Champions League. Three wins from four games left them in eighth place out of 36 teams, a slot that guarantees direct tickets to the round of 16.

PSV came to Anfield with confidence. Peter Bosz's side are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions. Their European campaign was quite colorful, with one win, two draws, and one defeat to the first four games, scoring nine goals and conceding seven.

After a surprise 3-1 defeat to Union Saint-Gilicoise, PSV responded with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen and Olympiacos headquarters, as well as an incredible 6-2 win over Napoli. They are now in 18th position in the group's phase league system, enough to secure a place in the knockout playoffs.

Although they have only won once in the last 14 away games against English clubs, Liverpool's chaotic condition has given PSV realistic hopes to steal points.

Liverpool are still without Giovanni Leoni and two right-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley. This opens up opportunities for Szoboszlai to return to the right-back position, while Andrew Robertson is expected to replace Kerkez on the left.

Mohamed Salah pursues a record, requiring two goals to become the first African player to reach 50 Champions League goals. He is expected to have a duet with Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, the former PSV star who scored 55 goals in 159 games for the Dutch club.

In the PSV camp, Peter Bosz had no new injury constraints after winning over NAC Breda. Only Ruben van Bommel and Alassane Plea are absent. Guus Til will return to appear as the center forward after recording six goals in the last five games. He competed with Saibari and Vega on record for the contribution of PSV goals this season, while Ricardo Pepi remains a threat after scoring goals in three of the four most recent matches in the Champions League.

Seeing Liverpool's loss of direction and confidence, it is very difficult for them to expect them to give a strong response at Anfield. With Peter Bosz's aggressive attacking style, PSV has the potential to put great pressure on it.

The most reasonable situation is a draw, which will still feel like a win for PSV and additional pressure for the Reds. An interesting follow-up room to explore is how these two teams reacted in the race for the knockout stages after the result of this match.

Liverpool line-up (4-3-3): Alisson; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo.

PSV Eindhoven (4-2-3-1): Kovar; Dest, Gasiorowski, Schouten, Salah-Eddine; Junior,men; Man, Saibari, Perisic; Til.

Liverpool 2-2 PSV Eindhoven Prediction