After poor starts in both the Premier League & Champions League, Adam Bate analyses the five main reasons behind Liverpool's struggles so far.
A 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in October last year saw Liverpool go top of the Premier League after seven games of the season.
Twelve months on and the Reds are ninth in the table and struggling in Europe.
Here we look at some of the reasons why Liverpool appear to have lost their lustre...
That man Luis Suarez
In any discussion about what's changed at Anfield, it's impossible to ignore the exit of Luis Suarez. After all, the Uruguayan forward netted 31 Premier League goals in 2013/14 - no player has scored more in a 38-game season. Those goals alone accounted for 16 points but it wasn't just about the times he put the ball in the net himself. There were the 12 assists - only Steven Gerrard could beat that - and the infectious attitude that raised the standards of those around him. "We lost a world-class player," said Brendan Rodgers. That just about sums it up.
New players to integrate
Replacing the irreplaceable was never going to be straightforward and with a Champions League campaign to plan, Rodgers had to add numbers as well as quality. As a result, several new arrivals came with caveats. Lazar Markovic is a young player in a new environment and is now injured, while Mario Balotelli represents a challenge on and off the field. Rodgers might have banked on Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert hitting the ground running but injuries to the former and a surprisingly low-key start for the latter has made for a difficult transition period.
Champions League commitments
Everyone knew the Champions League challenge was on its way and it's certainly a welcome one for the five-time European champions, but that hasn't made it any easier. It's not just the travelling but the mental exertion - as shown after an unexpectedly fraught evening against Ludogorets first time out. What followed was a miserable defeat at West Ham in which the Liverpool players covered just 105.46km - a season-low so far. Rodgers fielded eight of the starting line-up from the midweek game with the injuries that limited his ability to rotate proving costly.
No time for tactical preparation
Much of the emphasis has been on the physical difficulties of playing two games per week but the increased workload has also been a tactical challenge for the Liverpool boss. The days of being able to begin serious preparation for the weekend opponents on a Tuesday have become a rarity this season. The flight back from Basel was in the early hours of Thursday morning so training ground time was at a premium ahead of the visit of West Brom. A tighter schedule to get players up to speed and focused on the next game might have caused problems.
It's all about expectations
Liverpool have six points fewer than they picked up at the same stage of last season but it's worth pointing out that the margins have been small. After all, two of those were surrendered courtesy of Phil Jagielka's bolt from the Everton blue. Liverpool also won their first three matches of last season 1-0 and produced nothing in the early stages that was as impressive as August's 3-0 dismantling of Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Of course, raising expectations at a massive club like Liverpool can be dangerous - even if there are logical reasons for what Rodgers calls "the pain".
Conclusions
Although Raheem Sterling's apparent tiredness while on England duty would appear to be a further indication of the problems facing Liverpool, Rodgers will at least be grateful that the teenager played a little over an hour of international football across the two games. With Daniel Sturridge afforded time to recover from injury and Steven Gerrard enjoying a rare break, Liverpool fans might expect to feel the benefit against QPR at the weekend. If they don't, concerns really will grow that events are conspiring to make for a difficult follow-up year after last season's near miss.
Watch Liverpool in action against Queens Park Rangers live on Super Sunday (Sky Sports 1 HD, 1.30pm kick off)
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