Liverpool don’t have the luxury of licking their wounds. The late damage against Manchester City has left them chasing the season rather than shaping it, and now they walk into a ground that has become a nightmare for visiting sides.
Next up is Sunderland away — a fixture that feels like it comes with its own warning label. The Stadium of Light has been loud, physical, and stubbornly difficult this season, and Liverpool arrive with their confidence bruised, their squad stretched, and their right side once again held together by improvisation.
It’s the kind of match that tells you who you are. A team with top-four ambitions has to win ugly sometimes. Liverpool’s problem is that “ugly” has started to become the default setting — and the margins are getting tighter every week.
The hangover from City and the reality of the table
The defeat to Manchester City didn’t just hurt because of the timing. It hurt because Liverpool had the game in reach and still found a way to lose it. Those are the nights that mess with a dressing room: you play well enough to take something, you don’t, and suddenly every upcoming match feels heavier.
Slot now has to reset the mood quickly. Liverpool’s recent form has been inconsistent, and there’s a sense that the season is drifting into a “must win” run earlier than anyone wanted. Three points at Sunderland won’t solve everything, but dropping more would turn the pressure from uncomfortable to unbearable.
Check below Liverpool’s starting XI against Sunderland tonight:
Why Sunderland away is a different kind of test
This isn’t a match you win by reputation. Sunderland will treat it like a cup final: aggressive press, early duels, direct balls, and a stadium that gets louder with every tackle. They won’t try to outplay Liverpool for 90 minutes. They’ll try to disrupt them for 90 minutes — and then nick the moment that matters.
Liverpool’s job is to control the chaos. That starts with not giving Sunderland cheap oxygen: sloppy passes, needless corners, and emotional reactions after challenges.
The injury list and the Szoboszlai complication
Liverpool’s squad issues don’t need drama added on top, but that’s exactly what they have now.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s suspension is the latest problem because it affects more than one position. He hasn’t just been a midfield engine — he’s been a practical solution at right-back when Liverpool ran out of specialist options. With Jeremie Frimpong still sidelined, Conor Bradley out, and Joe Gomez not fully reliable fitness-wise, Szoboszlai had become a “plug-and-play” fix that allowed Liverpool to keep their shape.
Take him out, and Slot loses flexibility. He now has to choose between:
- asking another midfielder to do a job out of position, or
- moving a defender across and weakening another area, or
- using a utility option and hoping the system covers the risk.
That’s a lot of problem-solving for one away game — especially one where Sunderland will target the flanks and press hard on the first touch.
Predicted system: 4-2-3-1, but the right side decides everything
Slot is still expected to stick with a 4-2-3-1 shape because it gives Liverpool balance: a double pivot to protect transitions, a No.10 to connect, and wingers who can stretch the pitch.
The key question isn’t the formation. It’s the right-back.
If Szoboszlai is unavailable, the most realistic emergency option is Wataru Endo — steady, disciplined, not flashy, but tactically reliable. That matters in a game like this. Sunderland will be waiting for one bad decision to explode into a counter or a set-piece.
Liverpool XI
Alisson; Endo, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitiké
Alisson will want a clean, simple game after the last one. At Sunderland, that may be impossible — but Liverpool need him calm rather than heroic.
At centre-back, Van Dijk and Konaté will have to win first contacts. Sunderland will put balls into the channel, into the box, and into the mixer. This is not the match for casual defending.
Robertson is the type of player Slot may lean on in a hostile away atmosphere. You get leadership, personality, and someone who understands how to manage a game when it gets messy.
In midfield, the double pivot of Gravenberch–Mac Allister has to be sharp. Not just in passing — in positioning. If Sunderland force turnovers, Liverpool can’t afford open midfield grass in front of the centre-backs.
And then there’s the front four:
- Salah will be marked like a headline. Even when he’s quiet, he changes how teams defend. Liverpool need him decisive, not just involved.
- Wirtz has to bring control and imagination. Away games like this are where the clever touch matters most, because the pitch becomes small and time disappears.
- Gakpo must be more aggressive. If Liverpool are blunt, Sunderland will grow into the game.
- Ekitiké is the focal point again, and this is a match for his physical side — occupying centre-backs, holding the ball, winning fouls, and making the box uncomfortable.
What decides this game
Three things.
1) Liverpool’s first 20 minutes.
If Liverpool start slow, Sunderland will smell it and the crowd will turn every tackle into a wave.
2) Set-pieces and second balls.
This is where underdogs punish favourites. Liverpool have to defend corners like it’s a final.
3) The right-back zone.
Sunderland will test it repeatedly. If Endo plays there, the job is clear: stay compact, don’t dive in, and let the system help.
The bigger picture
This is one of those fixtures that can define the next month. Win it, and Liverpool stabilise, reset the narrative, and keep Champions League hopes alive. Drop points, and every match becomes a referendum on Slot, the squad, and the club’s planning.
At this stage of the season, you don’t need perfect performances. You need wins — especially the uncomfortable ones.
