Contenders or pretenders: do Liverpool and Slot have what it takes?

It cannot be media hype to herald Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on Sunday as the start of a defining period for Arne Slot’s Liverpool when Slot himself has been saying pretty much the same for more than a month. Are the early Premier League leaders the real deal? Their head coach remains unsure, although he’s certain he is about to find out.

The international break gave Slot opportunity for a mental break, as he put it, taking several days off to reflect on an almost perfect beginning to life at Liverpool and to recharge ahead of a schedule that will be both demanding and revealing. Seven games in 21 days – Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa in the Premier League, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, plus a trip to the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup – promise to give a measure of a team that has embraced its transition thus far.

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Throughout the best start to any Liverpool manager’s reign in terms of results – nine wins out of 10 matches in all competitions – Slot has diluted praise with perspective. It was the 46-year-old who first raised the subject of Liverpool enjoying a relatively kind fixture list in comparison to their Premier League rivals. The message has stayed on repeat. It could be a psychological tactic from an obsessive tactician, designed to push his new charges towards constant improvement and away from complacency, but it is undoubtedly true.

Liverpool did have an easier opening to Slot’s debut season than Manchester City, Arsenal or any other contender in terms of average opponent rating. Their six league wins have come against the teams currently sitting 20th, 18th, 17th, 14th, 13th and 11th. Only once have Liverpool faced a team currently in the top half, 10th-placed Nottingham Forest, and that brought the only defeat of Slot’s tenure.

But the fixture list – though not the fixture list alone – has enabled Liverpool to build momentum and foundations as the team develops under a new head coach, allaying fears of a post-Jürgen Klopp stumble along the way. Control has been the hallmark of performances.

It is a Slot mantra and an aspect of the game where the Dutch coach does deviate from his predecessor. Liverpool stay in shape more and leave less space for opponents to hurt them on the counterattack, Callum Hudson-Odoi’s winner for Forest notwithstanding.

The style may be less thrilling than it was under Klopp but greater control has contributed to Liverpool boasting the best defensive record in the Premier League, with only two goals conceded and expected goals against down to 0.74 per game from 1.22 last season. Liverpool are also more clinical this season, their shot and big-chance conversion rates both up.

Slot believes the sample size is currently too small to pass judgment on his impact, or on the team’s potential. The Liverpool manager also has the first serious disruption to his defence to contend with on Sunday with Alisson sidelined by injury. The Brazil international will miss all of the next seven matches, and possibly more, as he recovers from a serious hamstring problem. Caoimhín Kelleher will deputise against Chelsea in what will be his 50th appearance for the club.

Slot was asked on Friday if he already knows what this team is capable of, or if he would have the answer only after the next seven games? “The last point of the question,” Slot replied. “It’s not so much about the fixture list because I think Wolves away might be just as hard as Chelsea at home. But what will tell me most and what will be more interesting for me will be to see what is going to happen with this schedule.

“Two seasons ago this club played in the Champions League and you know what the end result was on the Premier League table [fifth and 22 points off the top]. I say this because then, on the Champions League nights, the Virgils and the Trents [Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold] and all of them played.

“Last season was better in the Premier League table [third and nine points off the top] but in the Europa League, Trent and Virgil didn’t play, so it was one game a week for them and playing one game a week is a big advantage compared to two games a week.

“So I am more curious to see how we handle the difficult Champions League games and then be ready for the weekend. I am so curious to see how we play against the better teams in the Premier League, but I think the main difference between Holland and England is that if PSV play the 18th team there is a big gap, but in England the gap between the No 1 team and the 18th is smaller.”

It is the fourth-placed team that Liverpool face at Anfield at the weekend; a young and inconsistent Chelsea team, perhaps, but one with a 100% away record and the second-highest goals tally in the Premier League this season. Only Liverpool can match the away form of Enzo Maresca’s side.

Chelsea present “a big threat to the top three or four positions this season,” according to Slot. “I would maybe see them even higher.” In which case, if it is possible at this stage to make predictions about a team under new management, where does Slot see Liverpool?

“That’s an interesting one,” he said. “This club has always played for the top positions in the league, and this is where we are now. The margins are so small, especially between one, two and three.

“Last season there was quite a big gap to four, five and six but I’m expecting them to be closer now with Chelsea being one of them. Maybe Chelsea will be No 1, I don’t know, but there is more competition this season for the top four positions. I expect the teams that finish one to four will need more points than last season.”