Fulham could bring Arne Slot’s reign to an end this weekend

Anfield has staged stirring European comebacks, epic title deciders and emotional farewells, but Saturday’s meeting with Fulham may be remembered as the afternoon that nudged Arne Slot toward the exit door. Liverpool enter the Premier League fixture on a three-match slide across all competitions, and another defeat—especially at home to a club they are expected to beat—would intensify calls for a managerial change only months into the Dutchman’s tenure.

The timing could hardly be worse. Sandwiched between a 2–0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain and next week’s return leg, the Reds cannot afford to look past Marco Silva’s upwardly mobile side. Yet Slot must also weigh the risk of further fatigue or injury to key contributors ahead of the European clash, a dilemma that is expected to prompt rotation across the pitch.

Alexander Isak, introduced for his first minutes of 2026 in mid-week, is in contention to start alongside Mohamed Salah, who was an unused substitute in Paris. Curtis Jones is also poised to return in midfield, while Giorgi Mamardashvili—lauded for his performance against PSG—will continue in goal with Alisson still nursing a hamstring problem. At right-back, Slot faces a Hobson’s choice between Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez, neither of whom the coaching staff consider ideal for a high-stakes start.

Liverpool’s predicted XI (4-2-2-2): Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Salah, Isak.

The numbers underline the pressure. Slot’s side sit fifth, just a point clear of Chelsea, and have mustered only sporadic moments of the front-foot football promised when he replaced Jürgen Klopp. Critics have labelled the current style sterile; Anfield, famed for its thunderous, attacking tradition, has been asked to applaud patient build-up that rarely detonates into chances. Four straight defeats would represent the club’s worst sequence since 2021, and the hierarchy, while publicly supportive, will be braced for a fan-base revolt if Fulham compound the misery.

Silva’s visitors arrive with ambitions of their own. Three wins from their last five league fixtures have lifted Fulham to ninth, only two points behind Brentford in the Conference League berth. A victory on Merseyside would edge them closer to a first continental campaign since 2011–12 and serve as a statement that the project under the Portuguese coach is ahead of schedule.

Harrison Reed, whose 97th-minute equaliser stunned Liverpool in the reverse fixture, will miss the trip after picking up a training knock, joining Kenny Tete and Kevin on the treatment table. Calvin Bassey has recovered from the back complaint that kept him out of Nigeria’s recent matches and is expected to start, while Raúl Jiménez is pushing Rodrigo Muniz for the central striking role after converting a penalty against Burnley.

Fulham’s predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi, Wilson, King, Bobb; Jiménez.

Slot insists he still feels backing from the club’s decision-makers, yet football’s currency is results, and goodwill evaporates quickly on the back of tepid performances. A flat afternoon against an organised Fulham side capable of springing counters through Andreas Pereira and the pacy winger Bobb could see the dissenting chants reach a crescendo before the PSG second leg has even kicked off.

In short, Liverpool need a response, the manager needs a reprieve, and Fulham sense an opportunity to deepen the crisis. Saturday’s narrative is set: a sliding giant desperate to halt the skid, a confident visitor chasing history, and a manager on the brink of seeing his brief reign unravel before it has truly begun.