Liverpool return to Anfield this evening with a small but important step in the right direction behind them, while Sunderland arrive on Merseyside riding the wave of one of the comebacks of the season. It feels like a big night for both sides: one trying to steady themselves after a rocky spell, the other eager to prove their fast start is no illusion.
Liverpool’s last league outing brought badly needed relief. A 2-0 victory away at West Ham, with second-half goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, halted a miserable run that had seen Arne Slot’s side lose six of their previous seven league games and suffer a brutal 4-1 home defeat to PSV in Europe. The win in London was more workmanlike than spectacular, but it restored some calm and lifted Liverpool back towards mid-table after a spell that Slot himself has described as “far from good enough.”
Sunderland travel in the opposite mood. Regis Le Bris’s team come into this on the back of a remarkable 3-2 home win over Bournemouth, in which they fought back from 2-0 down inside 15 minutes to take all three points and climb into the top four. That comeback, sparked by Enzo Le Fée’s penalty and completed by Bertrand Traoré and a late Brian Brobbey header, was the latest example of the resilience and belief that has underpinned their return to the top flight. It also ended a brief winless run and extended their unbeaten home record since promotion.
Injuries and selection will again play a part. Liverpool still have a handful of ongoing issues in defence and midfield, and Slot has already shown he is willing to make big calls – most notably leaving Mohamed Salah out of the XI at West Ham. The core of the side that won in London is available, but rotation in certain positions remains likely given the schedule. Sunderland’s squad picture is comparatively settled: aside from a couple of longer-term absentees, Le Bris has his key players fit, which allows him to keep faith with the structure that has taken them into the top four.
Liverpool’s approach under Slot is unlikely to change dramatically. They will look to impose themselves with the ball, press high in phases and use the movement of Isak, Gakpo and whichever creative option starts on the right to drag Sunderland around. The focus will be on maintaining the defensive discipline they showed at West Ham while adding more fluency in the final third than has been evident for much of this poor run.
Sunderland, meanwhile, will not come merely to sit in. Le Bris has built a side that is organised without the ball but comfortable in possession, able to play through pressure as well as break quickly. The technical quality of players like Le Fée, along with the running power of Traoré and the penalty-box presence of Brobbey, makes them dangerous both in transitions and in sustained attacks. They will expect to have less of the ball than at home, but they will back themselves to use it well when they get it.
The midfield battle is likely to be decisive. If Liverpool can control that area, set the tempo and pin Sunderland back, Anfield can become a difficult place for any visiting side to breathe. But if Sunderland manage to disrupt Liverpool’s rhythm, win enough duels and turn turnovers into quick, vertical attacks, they have already shown they can hurt teams with far more experience at this level.
Neither side can treat this lightly.
For Liverpool, the West Ham win only matters if it becomes the start of a trend rather than a brief pause in the slide. Another strong performance – and especially a home win – would help calm nerves and give Slot something firmer to build on.
For Sunderland, this is the kind of stage that can harden belief: a positive result at Anfield would add even more credibility to talk of them being more than just early-season noise.
With one club trying to rediscover what made them champions and the other determined to prove they belong among the league’s frontrunners, tonight’s game at Anfield has all the ingredients of a tense, high-quality contest.
