Liverpool vs PSV predictions: Can Arne Slot’s side edge Anfield goalfest?
Liverpool’s collapse from league leaders to mid-table strugglers has been one of the most bizarre stories in many a year.
After winning their first five matches and being quoted at odds-on to retain the title, the Reds have now lost six of the last seven in the Premier League.
Sure, the table is tight below runaway leaders Arsenal but Liverpool sitting 12th with a goal difference of -2 is almost impossible to comprehend.
But like lots of teams – see Spurs and Manchester United from last season – who keep messing up in the league, Europe can offer some welcome and morale-boosting respite and Dutchman Slot will certainly know plenty about Wednesday’s opposition.
Although the Reds suffered a 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray, among all the recent losses are two impressive Champions League victories: a 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany and a deserved 1-0 win over Real Madrid at Anfield.
Nine points out of 12 in Europe is a good haul for Liverpool. It puts them eighth and on track to go straight into the last 16.
A scroll of that 36-team table finds PSV in 18th after they rebounded from a 3-1 opening home loss to Union Saint-Gilloise with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, an eye-popping and remarkable 6-2 home win over Italian champions Napoli and another 1-1 at Olympiakos last time.
How to watch Liverpool v PSV
Liverpool v PSV kicks off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday, November 26 at Anfield.
The game will be shown live on TNT Sports 3 and Discovery+, with coverage starting from 7pm.
TalkSPORT 2 will provide full match commentary.
Liverpool team news
Arne Slot is still struggling to find a settled starting line-up and his options are reduced here with Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley all ruled out.
Slot opted to use Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back in the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Saturday but is likely to switch the influential Hungarian back to midfield and play the fit-again Joe Gomez there instead.
Record signing Alexander Isak didn’t make an impact when starting against Forest and the Swede, who still looks short of fitness, may be replaced up front by Hugo Ekitike.
That said, Slot could pair both big-money strikers in his bid to find a winning formula.
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Liverpool expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Ekitike
PSV team news
PSV coach Peter Bosz is again without Ruben van Bommel and Alassane Plea but suffered no new injuries in the 1-0 win away to NAC Breda at the weekend.
Stand-in centre-forward Guus Til scored the winner and should be given the role again.
Ivan Perisic (now 36) will be a familiar face in the three behind Til as PSV look to make it eight wins out of nine in all competitions.
PSV expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Kovar; Dest, Schouten, Gasiorowski, Salah-Eddine; Mauro Junior, Veerman; Man, Saibari, Perisic; Til
Liverpool v PSV stats
– Liverpool won five of their first six meetings with PSV in European competition (D1), but were beaten 3-2 in Eindhoven in last season’s UEFA Champions League league phase.
– PSV have won just one of their last 14 European away games against English opposition (D5 L8).
– Liverpool have won each of their last 13 UEFA Champions League home games in the group stage/league phase, beating Real Madrid 1-0 on MD4 to set the outright longest such run by a Premier League side.
– Both teams have scored in each of PSV’s last 10 UEFA Champions League games (22F, 23A).
– Liverpool manager Arne Slot has only won one of his last eight games against PSV in all competitions (D3 L4), and against no side has he suffered more defeats in his managerial career (4 – level with FC Twente and Vitesse).
– PSV’s Ricardo Pepi has been directly involved in five goals in his last four UEFA Champions League games (three goals, two assists), including a goal and assist versus Liverpool in January.
Liverpool v PSV predictions
In normal circumstances, this could easily be chalked up as a likely routine home win.
But weird things are happening at Anfield and Slot’s poor record against PSV may only spook Liverpool fans further.
However, surely the strongest stat is that the Merseysiders have won each of their last 13 home games in the Champions League group/league phase.
They took it to 12 with a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in September and made it a lucky 13 with a focused 1-0 home victory over Real Madrid earlier this month.
Liverpool have been knocked out of their stride by big, physical, direct sides this season so, in that sense, PSV will be welcome opponents as that isn’t their style of play.
But the Dutch outfit, who ripped apart Napoli 6-2, will be dangerous on the break and they’ve won seven out of seven on the road in the Eredivisie this season, a league they lead by six points from Slot’s former club Feyenoord.
Taking the hosts at short odds-on (they’re 1/3) isn’t wise but, given PSV’s goal threat, the 13/10 for Liverpool to win and both teams to score is much more palatable.
Cody Gakpo got the opener when the two sides met in Eindhoven back in January and those who like a bit of fate (and are aware of the stat that he scored in 10 consecutive starts at Anfield last season) are alerted to the former PSV man scoring first again. He’s 6/1 to do so.
