Liverpool have made a decision on head coach Arne Slott ahead of Saturday night’s home match against Aston Villa, according to reports.
With Liverpool losing six of their last seven games in all competitions, Slott suddenly became one of the candidates to be the next Premier League manager after being sacked.
The Dutchman had a fantastic debut season at Anfield, helping Liverpool exceed expectations and win their 20th Premier League title, but he has suffered a disappointing defeat in recent weeks.
Slott’s squad is severely unbalanced following a summer overhaul of more than £400m, with most of his key players underperforming. As a result, they fell from 1st to 7th place in the Premier League.
Liverpool are already seven points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, so they desperately need three points.
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The Reds have a chance to return to winning territory on Saturday when they host Unai Emery’s in-form Aston Villa at Anfield, with club legend Peter Crouch predicting there will be “serious discussions behind the scenes” if the hosts lose again.
“He has earned enough reprieve from last season that he can certainly finish this season. There are now concerns and, for the first time in Slott’s Liverpool career, there are question marks over his selection and tactics,” Crouch told Paddy Power.
“In the Carabao Cup, it was one of those games where we really needed to win, so it seemed a bit strange to change as many players as he did when they were struggling as much. We needed a little more quality than the players that were selected.”
“It was a very young team. I know they’ve had some injury issues, but I think the balance of play certainly needs to be addressed because it feels like there’s a lack of confidence defensively at the moment.”
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Asked if he thought Slott could be sacked if Liverpool lost to Aston Villa on Saturday night, Crouch said: “There will be serious discussions behind the scenes.
“I think it would be good to bring my best team together and play again. It’s a big game against Aston Villa, but no, I don’t think there will be a knee-jerk reaction. There will definitely be some serious question marks.”
“There’s certainly pressure on him now. If you lose one game at Liverpool, there’s pressure on you, and if you lose five games in a row, it’s a serious problem.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that Liverpool had decided whether to sack Mr Slott as there was “no chance” of him losing his job.
Now, a report in the Mirror has revealed that their “understanding” is that “Slot will maintain the support of the Reds hierarchy for the time being.”
