17 hours ago
7
Sitting 11th in the Premier League standings — albeit only two points off the Champions League spots — Liverpool has work to do domestically. In Europe, though, things are going much more smoothly.
While the Reds did lose 1-0 to Galatasaray, only four teams have more points in UEFA's top competition so far. Wins over Atletico Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Madrid have put Liverpool in a strong position to qualify for the next phase without too much hassle.
Next up is a favorable-looking Champions League clash at home against PSV. A win there, and Arne Slot's men will strengthen their grip in the Swiss-style table even further, with the top eight — and an automatic place in the knockout round without the need for a play-off — in sight.
Ahead of that game, though, the Liverpool boss has some more difficult decisions to make. Chiefly, what might he do with Alexander Isak?
Hugo Ekitike deserves to play, but Isak needs minutes to get up to speed. The reason he started against Nottingham Forest — and played for so much of that game despite being so ineffective — is because that is the only way of improving his match sharpness.
Fielding him again just a few days later, however, could have the potential for being an injury risk. More likely, Ekitike will be the number nine and Isak will come off the bench.
Elsewhere, Liverpool will still be without either of its right-backs, Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong. That could mean Dominik Szoboszlai playing that position again, or Joe Gomez coming in.
Gomez wasn't fit enough to feature against Nottingham Forest, Slot said, but might be needed here. He could play center-back in place of Ibrahima Konate, too, given the Frenchman's shaky form.
At left-back, Andy Robertson could replace Milos Kerkez. The Scotland captain is likely to come in for either this game or the trip to West Ham United, if not both.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
And with Florian Wirtz likely to still be sidelined through injury, the only other player who could potentially come into the team is Federico Chiesa. The Italian, though, is not someone that Slot turns to often.
"I want to emphasize one more time on the fact that I'm responsible for the current losses," Slot said on Saturday.
"You are responsible when you're winning, but you're also responsible when you are losing."
As his side takes to the field again, the Liverpool head coach will have to make some better calls — not just with PSV in mind, but West Ham and the rest of the upcoming run as well.
English (US) ·