Liverpool are accustomed to hearing their fans singing about walking through a storm. Yet Arne Slot has scarcely experienced one throughout the smoothness of his start. If 18 wins in 21 games amounts to a storm, it is the sort many a manager would like to experience. Now he faces one; certainly of the meteorological variety, perhaps of the footballing kind.
Slot’s maiden Merseyside derby will come during Storm Darragh. There is the prospect, too, of Storm Dyche. Jurgen Klopp’s chances of a second Premier League title were finished at Goodison Park in April. Now, in a 19th-century ground’s final derby – barring an FA Cup tie – Slot’s prospects of a first could be dented, for the second time in a week.
As Sean Dyche’s Everton scored four goals from set pieces against Wolves, as Caoimhin Kelleher misjudged a Bruno Guimaraes free kick before Newcastle’s late leveller on Wednesday, it could seem the worst fixture to have now, when gusts of wind could have a sizeable impact on the outcome.
“You have to take this into consideration with the choices you make, I am not talking about the line-up but the execution,” said Slot. “Everton is definitely a team that can score from a set piece.” So, he added, are Liverpool: it was only last week when Cody Gakpo headed in against Real Madrid after a well-worked corner.
The Slot way is not to get carried away: it is a mantra he has repeated with every victory. Now it is tested in the relative adversity of a draw, a few injuries and an ill-timed suspension. Slot was being generous in describing Everton as a team who “have done so well in the last three or four games” when the statistics show they have failed to score in four of their last five outings. But they can be obdurate in derbies – rare as Everton wins were in the Klopp era, there were plenty of draws at Goodison – and should be buoyed by Wednesday’s hammering of Wolves. Then there is an occasion that should galvanise any Evertonian; this is not just the 245th derby.
“To be part is already special and to be part of the last at Goodison Park makes it even more special,” said Slot, a newcomer to the rivalry.
The timing feels less than ideal for Liverpool.
When they overwhelmed Manchester City to establish a nine-point lead at the Premier League summit, there seemed the chance they could run away with the division. Now an obstacle course of a group of games could strip them of momentum and further diminish their advantage. The 3-3 draw with Newcastle preceded the derby, which is followed by high-flying Fulham and a wildly unpredictable Tottenham side who seem to reserve their better displays for the more glamorous games.
Meanwhile, Slot’s calm rhetoric meant their expanding injury list had been obscured, at least outside Anfield. In reality, he will select his starting 11 from 13 players: two of his six major forwards, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa, are still out, though returning soon, along with goalkeeper Alisson. His bank of eight defenders has been reduced to five; in an attempt to spare Trent Alexander-Arnold’s legs, he confined him to a quarter of the game at St James’ Park, which was still enough for the vice-captain to register two assists.
Slot has picked three from four in midfield but now Alexis Mac Allister is banned for both Everton and Girona after accumulating five cautions in the Premier League and three in the Champions League. “The downside to it is these players hardly make any fouls,” Slot noted. “Ryan [Gravenberch] is also one card away from being suspended so that’s something for us to be aware of. How that is possible because we hardly make any fouls?”
And yet his research took him to a game where Liverpool did commit too many: the video nasty of Klopp’s last derby. “I watched the game back yesterday but after half an hour, I was a bit surprised because Liverpool had the ball most of the time and there were 10 fouls made by Liverpool players and only one by an Everton player,” Slot said. “So we have to be aggressive but in a smart way.”
If those last four words – in a smart way – might sum up his entire managerial philosophy, a unique game can bring a unique challenge. Whether with its nature, its history and its rivalry or in the form of Dycheball, there is the potential for a culture shock. “People told me about it but the main thing I have to know is their playing style, what we can expect,” said Slot. “They are a very hard-working team so if you want to talk about tactics you first have to match their work rate. But we are a team that works really hard as well.”
In old-fashioned parlance, perhaps it is about earning the right to play. And, as the rest of the league waits to see if Liverpool will be blown off course, navigating their way through the storm.
