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At any given moment, there is a Premier League team in crisis. Right now, it is Liverpool, with Arne Slot's side having now been knocked out of the League Cup by Crystal Palace.
That latest defeat — a sixth in seven games — was suffered with a weakened team fielded, but that was the right call ahead of a huge week. Liverpool now has a resurgent Aston Villa and then Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Despite the poor run of results and the need to improve as quickly as possible, Slot still has a group of players that is filled with quality. In time, the hope is that things will all gel together.
Up to this point in the season, Liverpool has struggled with set-pieces and has been unable to defend well both individually and collectively in key moments.
New signing Milos Kerkez has been criticized, while Conor Bradley has started the new campaign slowly. Virgil van Dijk has been doing his best to hold everything together, but the Reds only just have a positive Premier League goal difference.
Despite that, Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith doesn't think there is anything the theory that the Liverpool team is not physically capable of competing in a season where long balls, throw-ins and set-pieces have become so central.
"I’m not so sure about the concerns around Liverpool’s physicality," Smith told Best Betting Sites. "They’ve got players who have done it before and cope with it.
"Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, when they’re playing well, they’re not going to be bullied. Certainly Dominik Szoboszlai. They’ve got big players. They’ve got lads who know all about the Premier League.
"So, I think it’s half of it is confidence, and half of it is new players coming in, not acclimatised, not doing well.
"But when the opposition senses a team is down on confidence, they might feel that they could steamroll them and really go at them. Maybe there’s a little bit of that when it comes to Liverpool."
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In addition to being poor at the back, Liverpool hasn't been as clinical as normal in attack. That, clearly, is not a useful mix when it comes to picking up points or progressing in cup competitions.
Mohamed Salah has been misfiring, though he did score at Brentford, and Alexander Isak is still getting himself up to speed after missing the entirety of the summer.
But whatever the reasons, one issue at a time, Slot needs to find a solution.
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