The ongoing plight of reigning Premier League champions Liverpool is arguably the biggest story in European football. The 2025/26 season was supposed to see further building blocks added to a dynasty in the making, with manager Arne Slot embarking upon a staggering £450 million spending spree in the summer as he looked to successfully defend the title his side won so impressively last term. However, things have taken a disastrous turn for the worse.
Liverpool’s Plight
Experts and bookmakers alike both chronicled Liverpool’s conviction as title favorites, a juggernaut promising a new era of dominance on Merseyside. The reality? Six defeats in seven games, four consecutive Premier League losses, and a club in freefall. It’s been less of a stumble, more of an implosion, the expected heights replaced by shades of crisis Reds supporters thought were a thing of the past. Now, not only are they six points off the pace of table-topping Arsenal, but online sportsbooks have taken their favorite tag and placed it elsewhere.
Once the clear frontrunners, the latest Premier League title odds from the popular Bovada online sportsbook now make Liverpool a distant 13/2 shot to successfully defend their crown. In their place, the Gunners have assumed the position of favorite, with the same outlet pricing them at a mighty short 1/2.
So then, it’s clear that there needs to be changes on Merseyside and fast if the Reds are to remain in the title fight. Luckily, there are three players already in the club’s ranks primed and ready to take their opportunity, should Arne Slot give it to them.
Hugo Ekitike
The Alexander Isak experiment was meant to signal a new era up front; instead, it’s been a masterclass in frustration. Two goals and a sea of isolation have rendered Liverpool’s £125 million man a lonely, expensive passenger. In the background, quietly rewriting his own script, stands Hugo Ekitike. No Liverpool forward has done more with less. In 450 minutes—a patchwork of cameos primarily from before the Swede was signed on transfer deadline day—he’s registered three goals and two assists, an output made all the more dazzling when compared to Isak’s struggles.
Ekitike is, for lack of a better word, alive: stretching back lines, gliding between defenders, and—crucially—linking up with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Watch him closely and there’s an echo of a young Thierry Henry in his stride, a fearless pulse that quickens Liverpool’s tempo just when the malaise threatens to calcify. Underneath the surface, the numbers back the eye test: Liverpool’s expected goals and progressive passes skyrocket when the Frenchman leads the line. He isn’t a panic button—he’s an accelerant. Slot has no luxury for indecision. The time for Ekitike is now.
Andy Robertson
The left flank has become an open wound. Milos Kerkez, all youthful exuberance, has coughed up two critical errors in the last five games and been found out by the relentless tactical targeting of Premier League managers. The consequences have been dire: defensive frailty, disjointed build-up, and a 15% decline in one of Liverpool’s historic trademarks—penetrating crosses. The answer is as simple as it is time-honored: Andy Robertson.
Sidelined but never silent, the Scotsman’s numbers read like a captain’s last will and testament: two assists in 300 minutes, 2.5 accurate crosses per game, and a calming presence in a squad bordering on hysteria.
But the numbers only hint at what he brings. This is a player whose leadership is wired into the club’s DNA, whose voice lifts teammates, and whose on-field muscle memory restores balance and positional acuity. Robertson’s return is a strategic correction; his presence tightens the defense, injects quality into transition, and puts opposition wingers firmly on the back foot. When the pitch shakes, you reach for the player who never blinks.
Federico Chiesa
There is nothing more dangerous in modern football than predictability, and Liverpool’s left-sided attack has become a study in the mundane. Cody Gakpo—once a flurry of cut-and-thrust—missed a whole host of chances in the shock 2-1 defeat to rivals Manchester United at Anfield. The verve and the spark remain, but consistency with his final product has gone missing, and as such, so too has Liverpool’s ability to destabilize.
The antidote? Federico Chiesa, a £10 million heist from Juventus last summer, has, in a mere 200 minutes off the bench, stamped his authority with two goals—including a frantic, last-gasp equalizer against Crystal Palace that briefly woke the Reds from their slumber, until Eddie Nketiah found the winner for the Eagles minutes later.
Chiesa is what oppositions fear: volatility disguised as artistry. His 3.2 dribbles per 90, sharp changes of direction, and a penchant for forcing goalkeepers to work harder than the league average all speak to a player who cannot be contained. Beyond the facts is the sense that, with the Italian maverick loose along the touchline, Liverpool can rip up their stale geometry and force opponents to make uncomfortable decisions. Chiesa must be unleashed. Paired with Ekitike, his ability to disrupt opens the spaces in which Liverpool’s best football is played—and transforms the side from methodical to menacing.
