Liverpool news: Is the Premier League title race back on after improved performances against Aston Villa, Real Madrid?

Liverpool have demonstrated they are back to their best and are performing at a level that would allow them to compete for honours, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.

With wins against Aston Villa in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League, supporters are heading into the weekend's clash against Manchester City with renewed confidence.

Arne Slot's side are in third place in the top flight with 18 points, seven fewer than first-placed Arsenal, a gap that managed to grow due to the fact the club lost four consecutive league matches prior to their win against Villa.

Lynch insisted that the Reds' showings in their two most recent games indicate that they are capable of playing at a competitive level, when he told Sports Mole: "I don't think it's premature to say that they're back. They look back to their best.

"You've seen Liverpool's performance levels return to what we saw last season, which is generating two and a half expected goals and giving up about half an expected goal. That's the level they need to be at in games, and they've been in and around that level over the last two.

"Their performances have been rewarded with the results to show for them, so that's encouraging. Slot will take that forward now and move slowly in terms of how he adapts things. If he does that, Liverpool's results should stabilize over the rest of the season."

A victory on Sunday against Manchester City would be a significant boost ahead of the November international break, but anything other than a win could put the title beyond them after just 11 league fixtures.

How has Arne Slot changed tactics to get Liverpool winning again?

Liverpool's 2-0 win against Villa and 1-0 success against Real were their only clean sheets in their last 12 outings, while the team had only won one of their previous seven matches.

Slot started a midfield of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in both matches - his first-choice midfield from 2024-25 - and the trio have brought back a degree of stability to the XI.

Lynch praised Slot's decision to revert to what worked last season, but he also understood why the boss felt the need to adapt, telling Sports Mole: "They've gone back to basics and are doing a lot of the things that they did last season. Obviously there's still been a few changes in the team with some new players.

"Criticism has been over the top, but one area he would deserve a little criticism is trying to change too much too quickly. I wonder if a lot of that has come from his experiences at Feyenoord where he'd have to sell his best players and replace them while trying to get that team running as quickly as possible.

"Feyenoord had so much quality on the pitch in comparison to the teams they were playing, but there just isn't the scope to [make so many changes] in the Premier League. The moment you lose one percent from your performance, the sides are there to exploit it, even mid-able and relegation sides."

Slot played Florian Wirtz from the left of attack against Real, moving him away from midfield areas, and the move helped Liverpool defend the middle of the pitch better.

Are Manchester City Liverpool's biggest test in the coming weeks?

While Manchester City are sure to pose a number of challenges on Sunday, Pep Guardiola's side do not excel when battling for second balls, something that has been an issue all season for the Reds.

The Merseysiders faced 57 long balls against Real and 64 against Villa, the second and fourth-fewest that they have faced in a match this season respectively.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch warned that Liverpool's biggest test will be against teams that play more directly against them, saying: "It's clearly a weakness that Liverpool are going to have to address at some point and are going to have to prove that they can deal with without making changes to the team.

"Manchester United, the most expensively assembled long-ball team on the planet - and they had extra motivation - while facing Crystal Palace away from home is a really tricky one and they can be very direct. Brentford are the specialists in the league in terms of height and physicality.

"When the Forest game comes up, that's at Anfield, so it'll be harder for them to impose what they want to do on Liverpool, but it is still a weakness that they're going to have to show that they can get past. The one thing that is encouraging is that going back to the old setup makes the midfield a lot more compact."

Liverpool face Nottingham Forest after the international break on November 22, and they must come out on top physically if they wish to claim all three points.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on whether Liverpool are back to their best