Arne Slot has been warned that a defeat to Nottingham Forest "would make things tricky" for him at the Liverpool dugout, but a potential return for Jurgen Klopp has been ruled out. The reigning Premier League champions, who only weeks ago appeared to have rediscovered their rhythm with statement victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, were humbled at the Etihad in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th match in management.
Liverpool’s crisis deepens after Etihad setback
Liverpool offered little resistance in a 3-0 defeat marked by Erling Haaland’s opener, scored moments after he missed a penalty, followed by long-range strikes from Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku. Virgil van Dijk did have the ball in the net at 1-0, but the goal was controversially ruled out after VAR determined Andy Robertson, who was offside, had made an "obvious action" that impacted play. Liverpool failed to register a shot on target until the 75th minute. Slot, meanwhile, endured chants of "sacked in the morning" from City supporters as his team slumped to a seventh defeat in ten matches across all competitions. After 11 league games, Liverpool sit eighth, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
AdvertisementAFPForest encounter critical to Slot's future
Former Everton, Sunderland and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison has warned that Slot will be under pressure if Liverpool further drop points against Forest.
In an interview with Slot said: "I think a defeat against Forest would make things a little bit tricky, to be fair, for Slot. You can't sugarcoat it. They've got a run of games now, Liverpool, where they play a good amount of teams in the bottom half. So this is the period where you can put a run of wins together, and if you do, you get Liverpool back into the top two or three. If they don't then he starts to become a man under pressure, because it's time now to have the plan and to show everyone the plan, about how you get all your big boys into the same team."
He added that Liverpool’s issues are no longer just form-related, but structural.
"We're all trying to guess on what system and what permutation and what individuals you go for," he said. "Slot is a very good manager and he's got to solve it. So to answer your question he would be under pressure, but I'm still pretty confident in him."
Klopp's return not on the cards
With pressure building, bookmakers have inevitably drifted towards familiar names. Leading the speculative odds at 4/1 is the man Slot replaced, Jurgen Klopp. But Hutchinson has been quick to dismiss the idea.
"No, I don't see it. I think Jurgen's got more about him," he said. "I even think if that was the conversation, I think Jurgen would say to Liverpool to be patient on Slot, to give the guy time. I think Jurgen's that type of guy where it's not all about him. Jurgen's very honest. He wants to do what's best for himself and Liverpool for sure. So he would probably say to the board, stay patient, stay with Arne Slot. There's no one out there at the minute from the list of managers that would be available who would make it worth firing Slot."
GettyMixed injury news as Forest clash nears
Slot confirmed a blend of encouraging and worrying updates ahead of Saturday’s clash with Forest. Alisson Becker is fully fit after recovering from a hamstring injury and is expected to return in goal. However, Conor Bradley and Florian Wirtz have both suffered muscle injuries since returning from international duty. Bradley is expected to miss around three weeks, while Wirtz’s absence should be shorter, but he remains unavailable. Jeremie Frimpong is still out with a hamstring problem, leaving Liverpool thin at right-back.
Speaking on Wirtz and Bradley's injury situations, Slot said: "Both muscle issues. I don't expect Conor to be part of the next 22 days. Maybe he returns towards the end of that period unless a miracle happens. Florian should be back sooner, it depends how things go but it should not be too long.
"Jeremie is out for a similar timeframe and probably will not be available for the next two or three weeks either. It will be interesting to see who plays at right back. Curtis Jones filled in there last season and Joe Gomez has played there as well, but he has only completed 90 minutes in 2025, so asking to play seven times in 22 days is a risk."
However, Alexander Isak is fit again after a stop-start beginning to life at Anfield following his club-record transfer from Newcastle.
