Liverpool's next 5 fixtures compared to Arsenal as Reds slip up again in title race

Liverpool are currently languishing in fourth place in the Premier League after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat. The Reds' misery was compounded by Manchester United's first victory at Anfield in nine years, making their title defence an uphill battle.

Manager Arne Slot is facing his most challenging period yet with Liverpool teetering on the brink of a crisis following their failure to capitalise on opportunities against the Red Devils. Despite Cody Gakpo equalising after Bryan Mbeumo's opening goal and Liverpool hitting the woodwork three times, it was a frustrating afternoon for the Merseyside team.

In contrast to last season, Harry Maguire managed to secure the winning goal, leaving Liverpool trailing four points behind league leaders Arsenal. This defeat has resulted in the Reds falling behind both Manchester City and Bournemouth in the standings.

The Reds' head coach reflected on the challenges of management, stating: "I think as a manager you constantly face challenges," and "So when you just start you are a new manager and you need to win games."

He continued: "Then when you do well, you go to a bigger club and people ask how you will do over there, and being the successor of Jurgen Klopp, people say: 'This is the biggest challenge you have ever faced'.

"Now we've lost four times in a row and that is also a challenge, so the life of a football manager is also an ongoing challenge. If you lose games you want to start winning again, so do we lose confidence? I cannot see it yet.

"Because every game we've lost, we were able to create, in the second half, an unbelievable amount of chances.

"So if you look back at the three games we've lost in the Premier League, I don't think if you put all the highlights behind you, you would say it's hardly possible that they lose this game.

"So if we can keep producing what we are doing and maybe do a few things a little bit better, then there is every reason to expect that we will win football games again.

"But I cannot promise you that on Wednesday evening we are able to create eight, nine or 10 open chances. I hope so and with the players we have it will lead to us scoring more goals.

"And there is of course the part that apart from the two goals we conceded, we've conceded maybe two or three more chances."

It's not going to get any easier for Liverpool, however, as Slot's men face tricky tests against Aston Villa and Manchester City early next month, while Arsenal's next three fixtures look much more straightforward until tough matches against Tottenham and Chelsea at the backend of November.

Here's how Liverpool's upcoming fixtures stack up against their title rivals.

Brentford (A) - October 25.

Aston Villa (H) - November 1.

Manchester City (A) - November 9.

Nottingham Forest (H) - November 22.

West Ham (A) - November 30.

Crystal Palace (H) - October 26.

Burnley (A) - November 1.

Sunderland (A) - November 8.

Tottenham (H) - November 23.

Chelsea (A) - November 30.

Aston Villa (A) - October 26.

Bournemouth (H) - November 2.

Liverpool (H) - November 9.

Newcastle (A) - November 22.

Leeds (H) - November 29.

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