Slot hoping to find balance between chaos and possession against Ipswich

Arne Slot is hoping to strike the right balance between “chaos and possession” ahead of his first Premier League encounter against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Slot arrived as Jurgen Klopp’s successor in June, and a seemingly improbable task has proved to be a seamless transition given their pre-season results.

The Reds won four of their five fixtures ahead of the new campaign, but Slot is still aiming to find the perfect blend just two months into his Anfield tenure.

“Style of play has been with my teams where I worked, I think, always the same,” Slot said. “There are a lot of similarities with Jurgen Klopp, with the way they played in the past, and I’m hoping we will see these similarities in the upcoming weeks and months.

“We like to have the ball, we don’t like the other team to have the ball, but the Premier League is a league where many good clubs are and many clubs want to have the ball.

“And if we have it, we want to score, we want to be intense in everything we do. If we have the ball, we want to score – that’s quite simple, of course!

“But it sometimes also depends on the players you have. I think we’re trying to find the balance between trying to create chaos at certain moments and trying to keep possession of the ball.”

Arne’s first game in the Anfield dugout pic.twitter.com/JswS8jWBmI

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 11, 2024

Meanwhile, Ipswich arrive back in the Premier League 22 years after their relegation was confirmed against the same opponents they will face upon their return.

The Tractor Boys confirmed back-to-back promotions last season, pipped to the Championship title by Leicester City in Kieran McKenna’s second season at the helm.

Ipswich scored 19 goals from set-pieces last campaign, a total only bettered by Cardiff (21), something McKenna believes will be crucial in remaining in the division.

“I’ve spoken lots about how we’re going to have to try and keep our identity but adapt, and we’re not going to be able to open up the game as much every minute of every game pretty much like we did last season,” McKenna said.

“We’re going to have to find times to do that and find time to keep the game a little bit more closed, and also we’re going to get fewer set pieces.

“So it’s going to be of the utmost importance to be even more efficient with them, and we’re going to defend more, so we’re going to have to be even more resilient against our set plays.”

This week:

Saturday – Liverpool (H). pic.twitter.com/LC8yM6jyjL

— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) August 12, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ipswich – Omari Hutchinson

After starring on loan for Ipswich last season, Omari Hutchinson secured a permanent move to Portman Road from Chelsea at the beginning of the transfer window.

Hutchinson registered 16 goal involvements in 44 Championship appearances last season (10 goals and six assists), a total only bettered by Leif Davies (20) and Conor Chaplin (21) in the Ipswich squad.

He has previously played three times against Liverpool’s Under-21 side and remains winless against them (D1 L2), but has the opportunity to upset the odds this time around.

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

As Mohamed Salah embarks on his eighth season with the Reds, he will be hopeful of adding the Tractor Boys to the list of Premier League outfits he has scored against.

No player in Premier League history has scored more goals on matchday one than Salah (eight, level with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney).

Only Rooney’s total of 13 goal involvements (eight goals and five assists) is more than the Egyptian’s tally on the opening day of the season (eight goals and four assists).

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Slot will be hoping for a winning start in Suffolk, with the omens in his favour as Liverpool have never lost at Portman Road (P5 W3 D2), playing more games there without losing than any other ground in the Premier League.

Ipswich will also be the fifth newly promoted side the Reds have faced in the last six seasons (W3 D1), with the last time Liverpool lost on the opening day coming in a 3-0 defeat to West Brom in 2012-13 in Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge.

However, only one of the eight managers to take charge of the Reds in the Premier League has won their first such game (D4 L3), with Gerard Houllier the last to do so against Southampton while jointly in charge with Roy Evans in August 1998.

The Tractor Boys boast an impressive matchday one record of their own, going unbeaten in their last 10 (W6 D4) since a 2-1 defeat to Reading in 2013-14.

Last season, only Stockport County (96) and Manchester City (96) scored more league goals than Ipswich in England’s top four tiers last year, and since McKenna’s arrival at Portman Road in December 2021, only City (239) have scored more league goals than the Tractor Boys (222).

And while Ipswich finally ended their 22-year wait for a return to the Premier League, they will want to get one over their opponents. Their most recent top-flight fixture was against Liverpool in May 2002, losing 5-0 to confirm their relegation to the second tier.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Ipswich – 15%

Draw – 17.9%

Liverpool – 67.1%