Liverpool v PSV live: Isak dropped for Ekitike as Reds bid to avoid another Anfield horror show | OneFootball

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Arne Slot voices frustration over Liverpool's surprise dip in form

Liverpool once again face an uphill battle to get their rapidly-disintegrating season back on track, this time with a Champions League tie against Eredivisie leaders PSV.

Arne Slot’s men suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday and are desperately in need of a bounce-back win over their Dutch visitors tonight.

The Reds have won all three of their previous home games against PSV and are four points clear of them in the Champions League group phase table, but that promising record may not hold for much longer after a dysfunctional start to the season.

Liverpool sit eighth in the table, just inside the automatic qualifying spots, with PSV ten places further back in play-off contention.

Ekitike preferred over Isak

Richard Jolly at Anfield

Richard Jolly26 November 2025 18:57

PSV line-up

PSV XI: Kovar, Dest, Scouten, Yarek, Salah-Eddine, Mauro Jr, Saibari, Veerman, Man, Til, Perisic

Subs: Olij, Smolenaars, Obispo, Flamingo, Sildillia, Nagalo, Wanner, Fernandez, Pepi, Driouech, Bajraktarevic, Boadu

Flo Clifford26 November 2025 18:53

Team news

Just two changes for the Reds tonight: in-form French forward Hugo Ekitike replaces Alexander Isak, while Alisson misses out on a spot in the squad entirely due to illness.

Giorgi Mamardashvili is his replacement between the sticks.

PSV field an unchanged side to the one that beat NAC Breda in the Eredivisie in their last outing.

Flo Clifford26 November 2025 18:48

Team news

The line-ups should be released in the next five minutes, so here’s a reminder of the early team news...

Arne Slot faces a dilemma up front with £125m man Alexander Isak yet to fire but still picked to start against Forest, and Hugo Ekitike demoted to the bench despite being one of the few bright sparks in this campaign so far.

First-choice keeper Alisson returned from a hamstring injury at the weekend but right-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are out of action, joining the likes of long-term absentee Giovanni Leoni in the treatment room. Florian Wirtz picked up a muscle injury on international duty with Germany which ruled him out of the Forest game, and is a doubt for tonight.

PSV have no fresh injury concerns after their domestic win over NAC Breda on Saturday, with only Ruben van Bommel - who suffered a serious knee injury against Ajax earlier in the season - and Alassane Plea sidelined.

Jamie Carragher says Arne Slot does not earn same ‘unconditional love’ as predecessor

Jamie Carragher has suggested that Liverpool manager Arne Slot does not command the same “unconditional love” as his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, while dismissing early speculation regarding the Dutchman's future at Anfield.

Pressure has intensified on Slot following the club's disappointing 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, a result that marks their sixth defeat in the last seven Premier League fixtures.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher remarked: “To win a league title in your first season is pretty special, but I have the feeling he (Slot) doesn’t have the unconditional love and support like Jurgen Klopp always had.”

Carragher says Arne Slot does not earn same ‘unconditional love’ as predecessor

Carragher insisted that any speculation over the Dutchman’s future at Anfield is premature

Chris Wilson26 November 2025 18:15

Jamie Carragher: ‘I only ever hear Mohamed Salah when he’s man of the match or needs a new contract’

Jamie Carragher has called on Mohamed Salah to follow Virgil van Dijk’s lead and speak out on Liverpool’s dismal run of form.

Liverpool have lost six of their last seven games in the Premier Leagueand Van Dijk said the champions are in a “mess” after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Van Dijk urged his team-mates to be “angry”, describing their performances as “unacceptable”, and Carragher said other players in the changing room have to show the same urgency.

Chris Wilson26 November 2025 17:50

Virgil Van Dijk’s damning four-word statement reveals depth of Liverpool crisis

For the first time in six decades, Liverpool has suffered consecutive defeats in league games by three goals. Alexander Isak is the first Liverpool player to lose on each of his first four Premier League starts for the club. And Virgil van Dijk had his own damning verdict, even if it drew less on statistics and more on a broader sense of their malaise. “At the moment, it is a mess,” said the Liverpool captain. “That’s just a fact.”

Others might call it a crisis, but Van Dijk’s chosen description was revealing enough. Still more so was his analysis of his side’s shortcomings after a run of six defeats in even league games. The Dutchman can excel in downplaying things, whatever the result. He speaks a lot, but he is not always outspoken. He was this time. The most laidback of defenders said: “You should be angry”.