In this week's Blood Red column, Paul Gorst says now is the time for Liverpool's £450m grand plan to reveal itself to stop a run of four straight Premier League defeats
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool looks on before the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Arne Slot, head coach of Liverpool, looks on before the Carabao Cup loss to Crystal Palace, which upped the pressure at Anfield
View Image
If Arne Slot rested his big guns on Wednesday to get them as fully prepared as possible for the visit from Aston Villa, then the game-plan for Saturday's fixture has had more time than usual of late to be formulated. The Liverpool head coach gave nights off to the likes Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Florian Wirtz for the fourth-round tie with Crystal Palace as 10 changes were made in total for a squad that didn't contain a first-team player on the bench.
It was crystal clear when the team sheet dropped at Anfield on Wednesday that this weekend's assignment was being viewed as the most important and that was understandable following a sequence of four successive Premier League losses for the champions.
Some have suggested that the meek surrender to the Eagles has increased the pressure on an embattled Slot, but progress to the fifth round of the least important of the four competitions Liverpool are in would offer no protection for the head coach if they extend their losing sequence to five tonight.
The Reds have lost six in seven just one other time in the last 70 years, which came during a troubled period for Rafa Benitez in 2009; a campaign which proved to be the Champions League-winning Spaniard's final one at the club.
So the decision to wrap Salah and Co in cotton wool for this one makes sense, and if it is a call that helps inspire a performance and a result - while restoring some much-needed confidence - then the League Cup will be viewed as collateral damage.
Nearly three months into the season, though, the grand plan of the summer that saw Liverpool fork out a historical figure of around £450m, which included breaking their transfer record twice for £116m Wirtz and £125m Alexander Isak has yet to become clear.
The former was said to have been so impressed by the tactical blueprint sold to him in May by Slot that he was emboldened enough to reject perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in favour of a move to Merseyside.
It's fair to claim we're yet to see that in action for Wirtz and the failure of Isak to undergo a full and proper pre-season schedule, as a result of his acrimonious move from Newcastle United, means the most expensive footballer in British history is currently sidelined with a groin injury, having made a limited impact in his two months at the club so far.
Slot will counteract the early-season appraisals that both players were bought for a number of years rather than months, but the general idea for this new-look Reds has yet to be seen in action.
The Dutchman wanted to increase the margin of victories, given how tense and tight so many of the fixtures were last season, but the overhaul of the forward line that also saw Hugo Ekitike arrive to the tune of £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt has been undercut by a leaky defence that has already shipped 14 goals, which is nine more than at the same stage of the campaign last year.
The protection for the back four is not as strong as it once was and teams have worked out that a more direct route to goal has the desired effect against the champions. It's why having a full week to work on the solution makes sense, even if Slot and a handful of seniors were somewhat distracted by midweek action.
Those unburdened by Carabao duty, however, have had ample time to devise a strategy that will see Liverpool avoid another early concession before settling into proceedings and imposing their own game on the opposition.
The four-game run of defeats in the league has seen the Reds concede each time inside the first 15 minutes, which is the worst run of its kind for more than 29 years. Simply starting on the right foot will go a long way towards the players being able to secure a much-needed result on Saturday.
After a full week of preparation for so many, it's time to finally see what the masterplan is for Slot's expensively-assembled Liverpool. There's a lot resting on it finally revealing itself.