It cannot be media hype to herald Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on Sunday as the start of a defining period for Arne Slot’s Liverpool when Slot himself has been saying pretty much the same for more than a month. Are the early Premier League leaders the real deal? Their head coach remains unsure, although he’s certain he is about to find out.
The international break gave Slot opportunity for a mental break, as he put it, taking several days off to reflect on an almost perfect beginning to life at Liverpool and to recharge ahead of a schedule that will be both demanding and revealing. Seven games in 21 days – Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa in the Premier League, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, plus a trip to the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup – promise to give a measure of a team that has embraced its transition thus far.
