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Jamie Carragher has got his wish after Arne Slot dropped Florian Wirtz from his Liverpool side to take on Chelsea on Saturday.
The Reds made their way to Stamford Bridge as they look to arrest their recent slump, having lost back-to-back games against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray in the last week.
Slot made five changes in total following the 1-0 defeat in the Champions League in midweek, with one of those enforced after Alisson Becker was forced off injured in Istanbul. His other changes though saw him revert to a much more familiar look following last season’s title triumph.
Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley all returned to the side, replacing Wirtz, Curtis Jones and Jeremie Frimpong, while Alexander Isak started up front in place of Hugo Ekitike following the Frenchman’s injury scare in Turkey.
The changes saw Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai reunited in midfield, as they had been for much of last season, with Wirtz dropping to the bench after what has been a tough start for the German international following his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old is yet to score in his nine appearances for Liverpool so far, and his only assist came in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace in August.
His form has led to increased pressure on Slot to take Wirtz out of the firing line, with Carragher among those to have called upon the Liverpool boss to drop him this week.
"There's a few problems there that he's got to fix, and it'll be really interesting how he goes about it because he's spent a lot of money on certain players," Carragher said.
"But right now, I don't think the balance of the team is right, and the obvious one that stands out right now is Florian Wirtz.
"He's just not at the races at all. He's a young boy coming into a new league. He's got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player.
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"But right now, I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool get back to what they were last season, and then go from there and try and build some confidence and build some defensive solidity because right now, it just looks a mess."
Liverpool’s game against Chelsea is the club’s final game before the international break, with Slot’s side eager to return to winning ways before then.
Arsenal’s win over West Ham means the Reds will kick off at Stamford Bridge in second in the Premier League table, with Mikel Arteta’s side sitting a point ahead in the early stages of the title race.
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