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Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have changed their minds on Liverpool after watching Arne Slot's team in the opening few matches of the Premier League season.
Both pundits initially tipped the Reds to retain the league title but have been tempted to look elsewhere after a week where Liverpool lost three games in a row in all competitions. Slot's men lost late against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, with a 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League in between.
"I said Liverpool," Shearer told talkSPORT. "There’s only been seven or eight games... ask me after 12 games and I might change my mind and say Arsenal."
Lineker provided a similar response. "I’ve thought Liverpool at the start of the season, but now I’m swaying more towards Arsenal," he said. "I think it’ll be one of them."
It is only a little more than a week ago that Paul Merson claimed the title race would be over if Liverpool beat Crystal Palace and Arsenal lost at Newcastle United.
The opposite happened in those fixtures, however, and the table has shifted significantly since. Liverpool is not at least jointly top of the Premier League table since matchday nine of last season.
Things can change quickly and Slot will be hoping that proves to be true in the next few weeks. Liverpool will be looking to bounce back and end its losing streak against Manchester United a week on Sunday.
"It is not that easy," Virgil van Dijk said when asked to explain might explain Liverpool’s recent setbacks. "Obviously [new players adjusting] plays a part as well, but that shouldn’t be the only focus. It is a combination of everything.
"It is down to us to work to turn this around and find consistency, to not concede goals, to score goals, to create, to not give up chances against us.
"How we work, it happened all season last year, and everything was positive and everyone was happy, and now we have a little blip, if you want to call it like that, and now we need everyone more than ever to support us and be there for us.
"Every three or four days is another opportunity, after the international break now, to find that momentum and consistency, and keep it.
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"I’ve been at the club for such a long time, there have been many difficult situations and we got out of them. It’s not for everyone to just accept it and move on, but the only thing we can do is focus on the next opportunity we have and work on it.
"Obviously now everyone goes to different countries and everyone has the responsibility to try to stay fit and do well.
"But when we come back, we have a very big game against Manchester United, where I am already very much looking forward to it. It’s an opportunity again to show what we have been showing last year throughout the whole season.
"That is the reason we became champions and made so many people around the world happy. Now we need the chance to get to that point again, and work is the basis to it, finding consistency and sticking together."
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