As the Liverpool crisis worsens by the week, Arne Slot could soon be fighting for the right to keep his job, should Sunday's Premier League visit to West Ham Untied go pear-shaped.
While the wounded champions are in free-fall, the Irons are enjoying a winter resurgence under Nuno Espirito Santo, taking seven points from the last nine on offer in the top flight.
Match preview
After breaking many a desirable record during his first season in English football, Slot and his sorry men are now collecting a plethora of pitiful feats, and the statistics from Wednesday evening made for especially grim reading for the Anfield faithful.
PSV Eindhoven's 4-1 Champions League embarrassment marked the first time in 72 years that Liverpool had lost three straight games by three goals or more, and also saw the Merseyside giants equal an unwanted record of losing three home matches by three or more goals in a single season, set all the way back in the 1929-30 campaign.
Coupled with 3-0 Premier League batterings against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest - which left the visitors in a miserable 12th place in the top-flight table- Slot's time should already be up in the eyes of many, but the under-fire Dutchman is understood to retain the faith of the powers-that-be for now.
But just how many more games can Liverpool lose - or how many more unwanted club Premier League records can they break - before the board take action? The Reds enter gameweek 13 closer to the relegation zone than leaders Arsenal points-wise, and they could now concede three or more goals in three straight league matches for the first time since 1955.
Away from home alone, the holders have been beaten in each of their last four Premier League matches on the road - conceding at least two goals on each occasion - and to make matters even worse, they have been beaten in each of their last five top-flight games away to London clubs.
© Imago / Pro Sports Images
Had this contest been played just a couple of months ago, West Ham fans would have been forgiven for resigning their team to defeat before the first whistle blew, but optimism ought to be rife among the London Stadium faithful after an unfathomable change in circumstances.
While Liverpool plummet down the rankings, the 2022-23 Conference League champions now have their heads above water, rising out of the relegation zone and into 17th place courtesy of a stellar November so far.
Back-to-back wins over Newcastle United and Burnley on home soil preceded an engrossing 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, where Callum Wilson struck twice against his former team before Santo's side lost that 2-0 advantage on a wet and windy South Coast.
The hosts still only lead 18th-placed Leeds United courtesy of a marginally superior goal difference, but home has been where the heart is for West Ham of late, and the Irons could now win three successive Premier League games at the London Stadium in the same season for the first time since October 2022.
West Ham's venue is traditionally a terrific ground for Liverpool's forwards, though, as the champions roared to a 5-0 win in this fixture last season and have scored 25 times at the London Stadium in the Premier League, only inferior to Manchester City's 28 and Arsenal's 26.
The Hammers need only travel back to November 2021 for their last home win over the Reds in the league, though, and given the current status quo, a repeat of that 3-2 success four years on is not beyond the realm of possibility.
West Ham United Premier League form:
L
L
L
W
W
D
Liverpool Premier League form:
L
L
L
W
L
L
Liverpool form (all competitions):
L
W
W
L
L
L
Team News
© Imago / Propaganda Photo
The second-half injury to Hugo Ekitike rubbed salt into the open wounds for Liverpool against PSV; Slot is confident that his back problem is not a major one, but the thought of an Alexander Isak start on Sunday should be met with a positive reaction.
The £125m man has scored five goals and provided one assist against West Ham in the Premier League - his second-most involvements against a single club in the competition after Nottingham Forest (six goals, one assist) - but he is the only player in Liverpool history to lose each of their first four Premier League starts.
In brighter fitness news, Alisson Becker is expected to recover from an illness in time for the trip south, and Florian Wirtz could also shake off a muscular complaint to make the cut.
However, defensive trio Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring), Conor Bradley (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) are guaranteed absentees.
In terms of West Ham's availability, Lucas Paqueta is back from a one-game ban for accumulated yellow cards, so a formation change could be in order with Igor Julio dropping out of the XI.
The hosts could also welcome Dinos Mavropanos (thigh) and Crysencio Summerville (knock) back into the matchday squad, but Lukasz Fabianski (back) and Oliver Scarles (shoulder) remain on the treatment table.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf; Potts, Fernandes; Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville; Wilson
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Chiesa; Isak
We say: West Ham United 2-2 Liverpool
Just when things seemingly cannot get any worse for Liverpool, they go and beat Aston Villa and Real Madrid, so confidently predicting which version of the Reds will show up is a fool's errand.
Regardless, Slot's leaky side will undoubtedly gift opportunities to the resurrected hosts, but the Irons remain vulnerable at the back themselves, so a high-scoring stalemate seems a likely - and not disastrous - outcome.
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