Troubled Liverpool looking for lift-off

It is only seven months but it feels much longer now since Liverpool FC left arch-rivals Manchester United FC reeling with a 4-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Trepidation
On that weekend in March the Merseysiders were the Premier League's in-form team, arriving at United on the back of a 4-0 crushing of Real Madrid CF and pushing them all the way in the race for the title. Now, by contrast, they could be forgiven for looking ahead to the clubs' showdown on Sunday with some trepidation following Tuesday's home reverse against Olympique Lyonnais – their fourth straight loss.

Not rosy
This is their worst sequence since 1987 and defeat would leave them ten points behind Premier League leaders United. The Merseysiders last lost five in a row in 1953 but, as Javier Mascherano recognised in the wake of the 2-1 UEFA Champions League reverse against Lyon, their prospects of arresting the slide against Sir Alex Ferguson's side do not look entirely rosy. The Argentina midfielder told uefa.com: "The team are playing badly and it is a difficult situation because we are not doing things right and there is a lack of confidence."

Defensive vulnerability
Amid the injuries – notably to Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard – and off-field problems being cited, Fabio Aurélio, who struck with a spectacular free-kick in that famous win at Old Trafford in March, pointed his finger at Liverpool's defensive vulnerability this term. Rafael Benítez's team have conceded 17 times in 13 games – a rate of 1.3 per match compared with last season's 0.8. "We looked a more solid team then – when we were in the lead we didn't let things slip away," the Brazilian told uefa.com. "We've conceded more goals and aren't as secure as we were. We have to work on this and get it right as quickly as possible."

Springboard
Liverpool went into the campaign hoping to build on their 86-point haul of 2008/09 – their best since 1988 – and end their 20-year wait for the title. That looks a distant hope right now yet Aurélio believes that beating United could provide the springboard to a revival. "We have a very important game on Sunday to try and change the outlook for the team and turn things in our favour which, at the moment, they are not. A win starts giving you the confidence you need to start believing in what you can do. If we win on Sunday then we will believe we can beat Arsenal [next Wednesday] and continue in the League Cup."

No margin for error
Mascherano echoed these words. "We need to lift ourselves, we have a very important game on Sunday and we have to start winning and not stop," he said. As for the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool have got out of tighter corners before. They will travel to Lyon on 4 November third in Group E with three points. Yet in in 2007/08 they took just one point from their first three games and ended up reaching the semi-finals. "It is hard but if we could do it before perhaps we can do it again now," Mascherano said. "We have to win in Lyon – we have no margin for error."