Liverpool meet Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. It’s a fixture typically freighted with emotion, one of the biggest and fiercest rivalries the Premier League has ever hosted.
But for the Anfield side, they know they need a big performance regardless, having fallen to three successive defeats before the October international break. These are uncharted waters for Arne Slot, both during his Liverpool tenure and previously in his Dutch homeland with Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar.
Despite slipping in the final stages of successive matches against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, Liverpool have fallen just one point behind league leaders Arsenal, and now they are back at Anfield.
The Red Devils have come away from Anfield with the spoils shared across both of the past two top-flight terms, but their own struggle for form under Ruben Amorim’s wing this season suggests that this is a fantastic chance for the defending champions to remind the Premier League what they are made of.
Who Slot should start up front vs Man Utd
Alexander Isak might have been called “the best striker in the Premier League” by pundit Jamie Carragher last season, but the debacle that was his summer transfer saga has disrupted his start to the season.
And Hugo Ekitike has only been too happy to take advantage and kickstart his own career in Liverpool. Having joined from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69m fee in July, the Frenchman has scored five goals and assisted one more across ten matches so far this season, starting eight of those games.
Newly blooded in Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus set-up, Ekitike boasts a rare attacking profile, deadly in the final third but also mobile and intelligent and electric on the ball.
The Frenchman’s red card for taking his shirt off in celebration, already on a yellow, having scored the winner in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup tie against Southampton, likely knocked him down a peg in Slot’s estimation, and he only made a cameo during the defeat at Stamford Bridge, having previously been suspended for the loss at Crystal Palace.
Will Isak reprise the starting berth he held against Chelsea? It was a tough evening for the visitors, but the Sweden international showed off his quality to claim the assist for Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser.
With the cogs not exactly whirring across Liverpool’s frontline right now, it feels like the chance to rise in stature is there for the taking.
Indeed, Slot does have the option to go down a different track, should he choose. Without a doubt, Isak and Ekitike are Liverpool’s most talented and effective centre-forwards, but there’s another who should play a part against Chelsea and even overshadow Ekitike.
Liverpool play Man United this weekend, and this particular Redman could call upon the spirit of former star Xherdan Shaqiri at Anfield.
Liverpool's new version of Shaqiri
Whether Slot decides to deploy him from the opening whistle or as part of a second-half wave that, on the basis of evidence, may be needed, there’s no question that Federico Chiesa will be primed to play his part against Liverpool’s most notorious rivals.
The 27-year-old has been one of the sharper forwards in the Anfield squad so far this season, bouncing back from a testing maiden year in England, struck by injuries and overlooked by Slot after arriving from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m fee.
But he’s so far been among the most clinical players at Slot’s disposal this season, bagging the winner on the opener against Bournemouth, netting again at Selhurst Park and setting up both Isak and Ekitike’s strikes during the win over Saints.
Hugo Ekitike
10
5 (1)
Mohamed Salah
10
3 (3)
Federico Chiesa
6
2 (2)
Cody Gakpo
10
2 (2)
Alexander Isak
6
1 (1)
Rio Ngumoha
5
1 (0)
Hailed as a “wizard” of a footballer by broadcaster Roger Bennett for his efforts with Juventus, Chiesa has that special ability to make things happen when his team needs him most.
And in this way, he could be the next version of Shaqiri on this important weekend. The Swiss international, now 33 years old, only played 63 matches across three campaigns for the Merseysiders, but he certainly left his mark, instrumental in beating Barcelona on that most historic of nights in the Champions League and popping up with some big moments in the Premier League too.
It was super-sub Shaqiri who came off the bench to score twice and help Liverpool along to a 3-1 win over Manchester United in December 2018, as Jurgen Klopp went neck-and-neck with Pep Guardiola at the height of his City dynasty.
Liverpool ultimately fell short that year, but triumph on the continent certainly helped cushion the blow. And anyway, Liverpool would triumph in the Premier League one year later, with Shaqiri in amongst the celebrations.
Like Shaqiri, Chiesa is an injury-prone forward, but he has immense quality and is now showing an ability to retain his quality in the English game.
Might he steal Ekitike’s thunder against the Red Devils? The Italy international will surely be hoping to grace the field after Slot kept him on the bench against Chelsea. After all, he has, on a number of occasions already this term, looked to be Liverpool’s focal threat.
Last season, opportunities were few and far between for Chiesa at Liverpool. However, he has proved himself as a testament to tenacity and unwavering self-belief. Now, the Italian is a secret weapon for Slot’s side.
In the past, Shaqiri came up trumps for Klopp when facing Man United. Now, Chiesa could repeat that trick.