Liverpool

Chloe Bloxam
Fan contributor

Arne Slot and Liverpool have faced a lot of criticism this season, and rightly so at times. We've been far too inconsistent and we've been far away from the standards that are expected of this Liverpool side. And when those standards are down, it always falls at the manager's door.

He's been criticised and ridiculed, and there have been a lot of doubts about whether he is the man to lead Liverpool forward. I have understood that and, at times this season, I've probably thought it myself, but Liverpool have stuck by him and I believe they will continue to stick by him.

I think he has to hit one of the three targets to ensure he is Liverpool manager next season, but I do think Liverpool will have a plan just in case it all goes wrong.

And the three targets?

Well, it's simple. He's got to get Champions League football next season or win either the FA Cup or the Champions League.

Of course, I'd like him to do all three if possible, but mainly win the Champions League because it secures it for you next season and it is the biggest trophy.

If he does hit any of those targets, I think he's fine in the job and Liverpool will stick with him.

I think with the model our owners use, as well as what's happened on and off the pitch this season, Liverpool will give Slot the benefit of the doubt. However, if he doesn't hit any of those three targets, he is in jeopardy - and rightly so because Liverpool have to get Champions League football. That is the most important thing for our owners and the way our model works.

Liverpool will have a plan in place in case the worst happens and we don't hit any of those targets, but I don't think they'll be thinking they will need to use that plan come next season.

As for me, it's a very strange place to be in because Slot gave me the best day of my life last year - I saw Liverpool lift the Premier League trophy in front of my eyes.

I know this season has been a dramatic fall-off, but I'll always be thankful to him because he gave me some of the best moments of my life.

But if we don't hit those targets, sadly, I think he will have to go and someone else will have to come in and try to lead Liverpool back to the top of English football.

Find more from Chloe Bloxam at The Redmen TV, external

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Three days on from their dramatic Premier League encounter, Wolves and Liverpool meet again. This time it's in the FA Cup, as both sides look for a silver lining to what have been disappointing domestic seasons.

Wolves are at the bottom of the Premier League table and remain almost certain to go down, despite their last-gasp win over the Reds on Tuesday. Head coach Rob Edwards replaced Vitor Pereira 11 games into the top-flight season and has improved the side significantly. In recent home games, he has sparked some much-needed positivity too.

With a Premier League miracle looking slim, this competition has taken on extra significance for Wolves. There is precedent for cup success from a similar situation: Wigan Athletic won the trophy and were relegated in the same season in 2013.

Liverpool have also fallen short of their admittedly much grander aims this season. After winning the Premier League title last year and then spending £450m in the summer, they were expected to compete on all fronts.

They remain in contention to win the FA Cup and the Champions League, but the defence of their Premier League crown has been limp; they trail leaders Arsenal by 19 points.

A trophy would sweeten what has been an underwhelming campaign and even though they are dealing with a number of injury issues, Liverpool have the talent to compete for a top-five berth, the European Cup and potentially two trips to Wembley during the run-in.

Head coach Arne Slot remains under scrutiny. The Dutchman would surely secure at least another season at Anfield if he were to hoist a piece of silverware in May. But after Tuesday's defeat, progress in this competition suddenly seems a lot less certain and much more important.

Did you know?

• Liverpool beat Wolves for the first time in the FA Cup in 2023 in a third-round replay. They won 1-0 at Molineux after the two sides drew 2-2 at Anfield.

Image source, Getty Images

More VAR controversy in prospect?

Video assistant referees are in place from the fifth round having previously not been used.

There was VAR controversy when the two teams met in the FA Cup at Anfield in 2023.

Wolves had a potential late winner ruled out for offside, but it could not be checked as VAR had no camera angle available to provide any evidence to overturn the decision.

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson said he and his team-mates won't progress in the FA Cup unless they deliver a better performance against "difficult" Wolves.

On Friday at Molineux, the Reds will fight Wolves for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals three days after the sides met there in the Premier League.

With his first league goal since November, Mohamad Salah appeared to have earned a point for the Reds on Tuesday after the hosts took the lead through Rodrigo Gomes - but Wolves snatched a win in injury time.

Robertson knows Liverpool need to offer more if they hope to reach the last eight of the FA Cup.

"You don't win many games of football playing the way that we did," Robertson said. "We probably put intensity into the game a bit too late.

"Wolves are a team that are really difficult to beat at the minute.

"We know Molineux is a tough place to go and we need to play a lot better than we did the other night to get anything out of the game."

Watch a clip of Robertson above, hit play below to hear the full episode of Football Daily or listen on BBC Sounds here

Wolves boss Rob Edwards might have been thinking his bottom-of-the-table Premier League side have a chance of 'the great escape' after they beat Liverpool on Tuesday.

So, seeing two of the three teams immediately above them, West Ham and Nottingham Forest, pick up points on Wednesday was a shame for Wolves, just when they had given themselves that little bit of hope.

Still, their recent results and performances have been much improved. Edwards has given Wolves fans something to smile about, and he will want to maintain that positivity here.

This is a big game for Liverpool boss Arne Slot, too.

The FA Cup could be important for him this season, so he cannot just focus on Tuesday's last-16 trip to Galatasaray in the Champions League.

After three successive Premier League wins, Tuesday's loss was another stumble for Slot's side in the race for the top four.

They were fortunate Manchester United and Aston Villa lost as well, but Chelsea's win at Villa meant the Reds are outside the top five now too.

With the heat that is around him, I don't think Slot is in a position where he can afford to play a weakened side here - he has to go strong to try to avoid another shock result.

I still think we will see another surprise, though.

Wolves are going to throw everything at Liverpool. They are still going down, but can they make it to Wembley too?

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Dirk Kuyt scored 71 times for Liverpool and perhaps three of the most memorable came 15 years ago today in a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Anfield.

From a combined total of about six yards.

A versatile forward and tireless runner, the former Netherlands international was a cult hero on Merseyside even before his famous treble against the Reds' fiercest rivals, but he is forever immortalised by a sunny Sunday lunchtime in March 2011.

And he owed a lot of plaudits that day to the work of Luis Suarez.

Goal one

Image source, Getty Images

A mazy Luis Suarez dribble resulted in a stabbed pass across the face of goal and Kuyt was there to finish on the line.

Goal two

Image source, Getty Images

Suarez lifted a cross into the box which United winger Nani inadvertently headed back towards his own goal in an attempt to clear. The ball floated perfectly over the defence and in front of Edwin van der Sar in goal for Kuyt to stoop and head home.

Goal three

Image source, Getty Images

Suarez caused the chaos again by whipping a low free-kick towards goal that Van der Sar spilled and Kuyt was there to lift the rebound high into the net from near point-blank range to complete the most workmanlike hat-trick imaginable.

Three goals.

About six yards.

Maximum damage.

A day Liverpool fans are unlikely to forget.

Liverpool want 19-year-old Yan Diomande to replace Mohamed Salah on the right wing and the RB Leipzig and Ivory Coast winger could cost them £87m. (Teamtalk), external

Arne Slot's position as Liverpool boss is set to come under significant scrutiny at the end of the season, with former Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso the only manager the club's owners want to succeed the Dutchman. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Friday's FA Cup fifth round game against Wolves at Molineux (20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Floran Wirtz trained yesterday so has made the "next step in his rehab" and could be available "for a few minutes in the best scenario" on Friday. Slot added he has no other fresh injury concerns after Tuesday's league defeat at Molineux.

• On potential rotation he said: "We have a few [options for changes] but we don't have 11. I always have options to bring in and players we can bring in and let them start. Not for the first time this season, three days after a game where we have dropped points. I've seen us do quite a lot this season, we have to be better than we were last time."

• More on Tuesday's defeat: "A game which was not so difficult to analyse. A lot of ball possession without being able to create many chances, not for the first time this season. Enough chances to win the game but we didn't convert it into goals. The first attack they had led to a goal. It was hard to take but we're one day away from another really important game for us. We know we have to be better tomorrow."

• Slot was asked about the Reds' record of conceding late goals this season, including on Tuesday: "It's a real concern if you lose and if you lose many times in the same manner it's even more a concern. The way we concede goals in the last minute is not always similar. Some of these goals are not from big chances. You always try to prevent the other team getting big chances."

• On the importance of the FA Cup: "We always find every trophy we can win very important. Champions League qualification is massive as we all know but tomorrow the FA Cup is on the line and that is a massive game for us."

• Where has he seen progression in recent weeks?: "You see individual players getting better and better but progress has had setbacks because of injuries. We had to adjust to the Florian Wirtz injury, that has happened to us a lot this season. At times this season we conceded a lot of goals and counter-attacks but I see improvement there. Bringing from all the ball possession into chances we have seen some improvement."

• On Cody Gakpo, whose only goal in his last nine came in last weekend's win over West Ham: "We are not in terms of chance creation last in the league. We're not doing that bad. We're also the team with most ball possession so you'd expect us to create more. Cody and Mo [Salah] we expect and they expect from themselves to score more. But attacking isn't just down to Cody and Mo in the same way defending isn't just down to Virgil and Ibou. Let's create even more and the goals will come."

Hit play above to watch some of Slot's news conference or listen on BBC Sounds here

Listen to live commentary of Wolves v Liverpool on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

How to follow the FA Cup fifth round on the BBC

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League reaction, FA Cup news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Liverpool? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are weighing up a move for 24-year-old Juventus and France midfielder Khephren Thuram. (CaughtOffside), external

German club RB Leipzig will want about 80m euros (£70m) if they are to sell 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who has been linked with Liverpool and Manchester United among others. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool have switched their attentions to Diomande as they do not believe they will be able to sign France winger Michael Olise from Bayern Munich, who want to extend the 24-year-old's contract beyond 2029. (Sky Sports Germany), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Micah Richards and Danny Murphy join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from the midweek Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds

Liverpool have announced a US tour before the 2026-27 season begins.

The Reds will take on Sunderland, Leeds and Wrexham across three different US cities.

Arne Slot's side will take on Sunderland in Nashville on 25 July, Wrexham in New York's Yankee Stadium on 29 July and Leeds at Chicago's Soldier Field on 2 August.

We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Premier League game between Wolves and Liverpool.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans:

Gareth: They made far too many changes in the summer and although they replaced some, we have such an unbalanced squad. Salah looks done…poor touch, slower and his goal instinct has completely gone. Slot looks clueless which is now showing in the tactics and how the players respond. Worst season for ages and if we fail to make the Champions League, a few more poor ones ahead!

Peter: Simply not good enough for Liverpool FC. Slot is out of his depth, having done well to win the Premier League with an inherited Klopp team. Time to go and bring about a change to our slow and negative defensive first half approaches. Dutch style, not for LFC.

Sean: Shocking and gutless! There are too many players in that starting 11 whose place is not under any threat from the bench players because the standard just ain't good enough.

Zak: Slot is sending out a team with hopes and prayers that his tactics might work. He has been doing this all season long and the job just isn't for him. Last season he won with Klopp's team. This season he's struggling.

Gordon: These performances are happening virtually every week. Liverpool saunter around with the ball with no attacking threat until the opposition score and then it's a frantic scramble to salvage a result. I have been saying this since last November - Slot must go as he is completely clueless. He has destroyed the team that Klopp built and at a net cost of £250m. It was Klopp's team that won the league last season but even then most of the performances became poorer the longer the season went on and despite winning the first five games of this season the writing was beginning to appear on the wall.

This is your Liverpool page. Visit it each day for news, fan opinion, punditry, stays and audio. If you'd like us to send content to you, sign in to the BBC Sport app, find your club's page and hit the bell icon before selecting news alerts.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Failure to qualify for the Champions League could be worth as much as £120m, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who also said Liverpool were better placed to weather such a drop because they are well run.

However, prize money and commercial opportunities are significantly lower in the other European competitions.

Uefa's financial report shows that Arne's Slot's side earned 98.1m euros (£85.3m) in distribution payments for reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2024-25 season.

When Liverpool were in the Europa League in 2023-24, they got just 26.8m euros (£23.3m) for getting to the quarter-finals.

Winning the tournament would help bridge the funding gap a little more.

Maguire said that the loss of money from Uefa would only be part of the story.

"It also has an impact upon matchday receipts," Maguire said. "It has an effect on the broadcasting money.

"It will mean lower commercial revenues, because there will be bonuses embedded in contracts with senior sponsors."

At the high end, Maguire thinks being out of the Champions League could in total "cost Liverpool around £120m".

Liverpool splashed out more than £400m last summer, signing players such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

It was the biggest spend by a club in a transfer window.

But Maguire says that Liverpool "are extremely well run". One season outside of the Champions League might not have a huge effect, he said.

Will Liverpool have any problems when it comes to complying with financial rules?

"The simple answer is no," Maguire added. "They're very forensic in terms of their financial analysis."

Being out of the Champions League could of course affect the players they might attract to Anfield.

For Liverpool, being in the top competition will remain vital regardless of money.

Read more on what missing out on the Champions League could mean for Liveprool's finances

Image source, Getty Images

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock says he would "enjoy roughing up" the current Reds side if he was playing against them today.

In Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at bottom side Wolves, Arne Slot's side conceded an injury-time winner for the fifth time this season.

"It's slow and it's laboured and every time you watch Liverpool at the moment it's like they need to go a goal behind to lift themselves," Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"We're so used to watching a Jurgen Klopp Liverpool in the way they play, and even last year I think they played with a better tempo in the way they attacked teams.

"This season it seems they want to control more and it just allows teams to get set.

"I think if you're playing against them and can get back into position quite quickly, then they are actually easier to play against.

"I don't look at this team and think they're hard to play against whereas last season they were and under Klopp they are.

"Right now they seem a little bit soft. I'd enjoy roughing them up if I was playing against them. Every time there's a tackle they're looking round for a bit of protection from the referee and when you see that you think 'we've got them here'."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot speaking to TNT Sports after the 2-1 defeat by Wolves: "Bad result, far from good first half, better second half. Second half, there was a bit more urgency, getting closer and closer to scoring a goal, then conceding with the first moment they arrived around our box. We immediately struck back, first off the post, then with Mo Salah, then we were twice close to making a winner.

"In the end, we conceded a deflected shot, which was not even a chance.

"We hardly conceded a chance, created not so much but more than they did, but the result is again a 2-1 loss.

"We are losing far too many football games and dropping points. Was it again in extra-time that we conceded? The three times we lost in the last 22 games were all three in extra time."

On facing Wolves again on Friday night in the FA Cup: "Yeah, which is a good thing and a nice thing because we have something to prove on Friday."

Did you know?

• Liverpool have lost five Premier League games thanks to 90th minute goals this season, the most ever by a team in a single campaign.

Aadam Patel
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

This was a brilliant opportunity for Liverpool in their pursuit of Champions League qualification and one they ultimately wasted.

Slot's side have lost nine Premier League games this season and this will go down as one of the more damaging defeats, against a Wolves side who have struggled throughout the campaign.

Liverpool were uninspiring in the first half and though they upped the ante after the break, they simply did nowhere near enough to test Sa in the home goal.

For all the talk of how they had improved on set-pieces, they rarely threatened here and were punished for some lazy defending.

Salah ended his Premier League drought but even his goal came from a Wolves mistake. The fact is that Liverpool massively missed the influence of Florian Wirtz, who is expected to return next week.

Nevertheless, Slot's side should never have lost this game and it speaks volumes about their struggles that for the fifth time this season, they conceded a winner after the 90th minute - the most ever by a team in a single campaign.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Wolves' performance

What did you make of Liverpool's display?

Come back on Wednesday for a selection of your replies

There's four changes for Wolves from the side that beat Aston Villa, with Ladislav Krejci back from suspension and Angel Gomes in midfield.

Wolves: Sa, Tchatchoua, Doherty, S Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Andre, J Gomes, A Gomes, Mane, Armstrong.

Subs: Johnstone, Toti, Mosquera, Lima, H Bueno, R Gomes, Bellegarde, Hwang, Arokodare.

Arne Slot makes one change for Liverpool with Jeremie Frimpong coming in for Joe Gomez.

Liverpool: Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Ekitike.

Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Nyoni, Ramsay, Morrison, Ngumoha.