Arne Slot did a soft task in his first months in Merseyside, with tactical changes that infused a greater feeling of satisfaction after the chaos that felt under Jürgen Klopp.
The new Liverpool coach had diverse demanding situations to assume the first part of his first season, however, the first story was that his team had not been in fact to control in his first weeks, an opinion that in fact has been imposed on itself on social networks the months. From.
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“There are many difficult groups that we still have to face,” Slot said at the end of September.
“If we are able (to keep a good record) after playing those teams as well, let’s see where we are then […] because maybe the fixture schedule has been ‘nice’ to us when you see the league table.”
Using the Power Rankings of OPTA, a global classification formula that contains more than 13,000 clubs classified between 0 (the lowest) and one hundred (the highest), to take a look at the force of the parties in conflict to which They faced, the Liverpool has in fact had the statistical beginning for 2024. -25 Prime Minister in its first 8 games.
An opening-weekend trip to newly-promoted Ipswich Town, plus visits to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Manchester United — three sides who were slow off the mark at the start of the season — were fixtures that most Liverpool fans would have hand-picked if given the option.
A home defeat to Nottingham Forest in the first match after the September international break was the only blot on an otherwise perfect record in this period, and that is a result that has proven to be less of a shock than it initially appeared given Forest’s current lofty position in the table almost four months on.
In the end, each club plays the other 19 twice in a season, but there’s a lot to be said for the momentum that can be created from a favourable start – that is, when it’s a new manager who puts his feet under the table.
That such jubilation crosses the walls of the education floor is another story, yet stories of a team’s good fortune can be shaped through what’s coming down into smaller subsamples per season.
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The 4 “seasons” of the 2024-25 Premier League crusade so far
Are the stars aligned in the slot aspect of the party calendar? An immersion in the context that surrounds the parties in conflict in Liverpool provides some interesting issues to highlight.
In his first 18 Premier League games, three teams had won their previous Ligueros games: Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. With so few teams capable of achieving a state constantly, Liverpool has been the one that has taken advantage.
In the most complicated games, the gods also smiled on Liverpool.
A 2-2 draw at big-name rivals Arsenal came here on an October day when Mikel Arteta’s side were without the injured Martin Odegaard and the suspended William Saliba, and the latter’s centre-back partner , Gabriel, was also forced to start the first half. Their other match in north London saw Tottenham without 4 of their starting five, goalkeeper included, and Liverpool demolished Angel Postcoglou, the 6-3 aspect, just before Christmas. Sandwiched between the two matches was the Manchester City stopover on December 1 at Anfield. Coming after 3 consecutive Premier League defeats, the champions gave an ineffective display, and, pertinently, Rodri-sans, which Liverpool dominated, winning 2-0.
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When Liverpool’s own team was stretched, a postponed adjustment to Everton, due to Darragh’s Typhoon, in early December may be a blessing in disguise for the slot machine. Liverpool would have been without Alisson, Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota (all injured) and Alexis Mac Allister (suspended) for this one. They are unlikely to also weaken when the recently unforeseen game is played even though everything is played.
Judging a team’s technique based on the state of the game – which tells you whether a team is in a losing position, a draw or a win when playing safe moves – is not unusual in football, but this principle can also be extrapolated to read about “the state of the season”. ». Essentially, the functionality of a team according to the wider context of opponents, standings and football calendar in the broad sense.
Going back to the OPTA ranking, we can adjust the strength of the opposing opposition to the attention of the game. It’s not a perfect science, but it allows us to notice the sophisticated differences that might exist in the timing of elements from the first part of the season.
Unsurprisingly, the effects show minor variations, however, the spread supports the concept that Liverpool have played at the opportune times this season.
Liverpool now receives Manchester United this weekend in a confrontation that is perceived as a war of giants with similar conditions, full of fierce competitiveness, palpable tension and danger in the original field.
However, this season is different, even according to the recent United Standards of United.
Ruben Amorim’s look is on tomorrow’s break relegation to Anfield, squandering 4 of his last five league games to sit 14th on the table, just seven numbers Ipswich, who are in the relegation zone in 18th place. If you remove the history and sentiment, this edition of Liverpool vs United is largely the league leader opposing a back-end team that suffered.
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Unsurprisingly, Liverpool are the overwhelming favourites to come out on top, as shown by The Athletic’s new match predictions model.
This uses the expected objectives to create an offensive and defensive score for the team, before simulating the upcoming matches, taking the credit from the home box of the account while giving more weight to recent performances. Using this model, Liverpool’s probability of winning of 69% matches the majority sentiment and reflects the divergent successes of the two teams under their respective new managers.
With Amorim still grappling with getting a song out of the team he inherited from the sacked Erik Ten Hag in mid-November, this is arguably the most productive time imaginable for Liverpool to take on United, proceeding to the theme that their foremas are kept aided by the fading strength of those who clash.
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Manchester United is now irrelevant for Liverpool
Let’s be clear, Liverpool is in the most sensible Premier League with merit. They seem as strong tactically as ever and have dealt with their own injury problems. The fact that Alisson (two months), Jota (two months) and Konate (six weeks) were incredibly surprised in the initial eleven is a testimony of the performances of the players who have surpassed them and a sign of intensity of the team.
However, the cards seem to have fallen in favor of the opening months and it would be foolish not to play the hand that was dealt.
The rapid advance until the end of the season in May and the beginning compared to Liverpool is compensated by a delicate ending: Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are among their last five games of the Premier League.
Though of course, some of those could be academic if Liverpool secure the title with games to spare.
Now is the time to maximize their momentum, kicking off 2025 tomorrow with their historic rivals in the Northwest.
(Top photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images)