Liverpool Are About to Find Out Exactly Where They Stand

I don’t think we really know how good this Liverpool team is yet.

And, to be honest, I’m not sure even Andoni Iraola knows.

Liverpool have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League season, with two wins and three draws leaving them on nine points from their opening five games. There have been things to like, particularly the improvement at the back, but there have also been plenty of moments when the team has looked like one that is still trying to work itself out.

That’s understandable.

This is a new manager, a new system and a squad that has gone through a huge amount of change.

But now comes the interesting part.

Liverpool’s next Premier League game is at home to Manchester City on October 11, followed by trips to Brentford and then Brighton before Arsenal come to Anfield on November 1.

That’s a very different test from what we’ve seen so far.

And I think these games are going to tell us an awful lot about where Liverpool actually stand.

The Manchester City game is the obvious one.

I’m not going to pretend that one result will suddenly tell us whether Iraola is going to be a success at Liverpool. It won’t.

But it will give us a much better idea of how this team copes when it is put under serious pressure.

Liverpool have looked increasingly difficult to break down. We’ve seen Alisson making important saves, Virgil van Dijk leading the defence and Jérémy Jacquet looking increasingly comfortable alongside him. Ronald Araújo has also given the back line another physical and defensive option.

The three consecutive Premier League clean sheets going into the international break were particularly encouraging.

That’s something I didn’t expect to be saying quite so early.

The other side of it is that Liverpool still haven’t completely convinced me going forward.

There have been flashes.

Alexander Isak has already scored four Premier League goals and his winner at Bournemouth showed exactly why Liverpool wanted him. Cody Gakpo’s involvement in that goal was also another reminder that there is plenty of quality in this attack.

But I still feel as though we’re waiting for the whole thing to click.

That’s the bit I’m most interested in seeing against City.

Can Liverpool’s attacking players cause problems against one of the strongest sides in the league?

Can Wirtz find the space to influence games?

Can Isak get enough service?

Can Gakpo continue the excellent form he has shown at times?

And, perhaps most importantly, can the midfield give Liverpool enough control?

Because that’s where I think Iraola still has some decisions to make.

There have been plenty of discussions about the midfield balance already, and I don’t think those questions are going away. Liverpool have quality there, but the manager is still working out which combinations give the team the best balance between creativity, control and defensive protection.

That’s normal for a new manager.

But at some point, you have to settle on your best team.

I also think the next few weeks could tell us something about some of the players who haven’t completely convinced.

I’ve been critical of Florian Wirtz myself because I expected more from him, but I’m certainly not writing him off. The talent is obvious. What Liverpool need to find is a way of getting that talent consistently involved in games.

The same applies to some of the other summer signings.

This is why I’m not particularly worried about Liverpool not looking like the finished article yet.

I’d actually be more worried if we were five games into a new manager’s reign and there was no sign of what he wanted to do.

There are signs.

The defence looks better.

Isak is scoring.

Gakpo looks important.

Jacquet looks like he belongs.

Araújo has been excellent.

And Liverpool are still unbeaten.

That’s a pretty decent foundation.

But nobody should pretend that everything is perfect.

Liverpool have nine points from their first five games and already find themselves six points behind Manchester City.

That’s why the City game is fascinating.

Liverpool don’t necessarily need to beat City to prove anything to me.

What I want to see is a Liverpool side that looks capable of going toe-to-toe with them.

I want to see whether the defensive improvement is real.

I want to see whether Iraola’s attacking ideas are beginning to take shape.

I want to see whether the midfield can cope.

And I want to see whether the big-money attacking players can produce when the level goes up.

Then comes Brentford.

Then Brighton.

Then Arsenal.

So it’s not just one big game.

It’s a run of matches that will really start testing this Liverpool team.

And that’s why I think the next month could be more important for Iraola’s first season than the first five games have been.

The early weeks were always going to be about finding his feet.

Now he has to start finding his team.

I’m still expecting Liverpool to improve as the season goes on. I don’t think we’ve seen the best version of this side yet.

And that’s actually what excites me.

Because if Liverpool can tighten up defensively while eventually getting Isak, Gakpo, Wirtz, Barcola and the rest of that attack firing together, this could become a very different-looking team.

But we need to see it against the best.

Manchester City will be the first proper test.

Arsenal won’t be far behind.

And the matches in between won’t exactly be easy either.

So, after all the changes, all the new faces and all the talk about what Iraola wants Liverpool to become, we’re about to get a much clearer answer.

Liverpool are about to find out exactly where they stand.

Jamie (The Kopite View)