Arne Slot will be forced into radical Liverpool change vs. Newcastle as he shapes new-look side

When the starting line-ups are confirmed at St James’ Park on Monday, there will be plenty of intrigue to see just how the sides will shape up.

To some degree, that is the case for every Premier League game, but both Newcastle United and Liverpool will have an experimental, unorthodox feeling to their XIs on Monday. For the hosts, that mainly centers around the fact that still no striker is likely to be available, with Alexander Isak’s self-imposed exile continuing and no advancements - at this stage - on Yoane Wissa or the plethora of other strikers linked with the Magpies.

New arrivals Jacob Ramsey and Malick Thiaw will probably occupy places on the bench, while it's difficult to see Lewis Hall being reintegrated just as his injury recovery continues.

While Eddie Howe will likely pick the same team that started last weekend, Arne Slot certainly won’t. He confirmed in Thursday’s press conference that Jeremie Frimpong, who started at right-back against Bournemouth, will miss the next two matches. A replacement is needed.

Conor Bradley, the obvious solution, seems unlikely. He is back in training and was named in the Northern Ireland squad, but Slot’s tone, comments from Michael O’Neill, and the general caution when it comes to handling the defender’s fragile physique mean it’s difficult to imagine him lining up against the rapid Newcastle attack.

Joe Gomez, another recurrent figure on the Liverpool sidelines, had a minor setback after featuring in the season opener and is a doubt. Therefore, Waturu Endo may have to deputize at right-back once again despite his underwhelming showing last week in the 4-2 win over the Cherries.

While defensive options are a concern, midfield reinforcements certainly aren’t. Ryan Gravenberch is back and hoping to solidify Liverpool’s shaky core.

Excluding Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Alisson, Gravenberch is perhaps Slot’s most trusted on-field voices, and his ability to stymie opposition attacks was sorely missing in the opening two matches of the campaign.

“That could help us a lot,” Slot admitted on Thursday. “If you look back at last season, every single time Ryan would have been in that position,” he added, referencing the gap through which Antoine Semenyo burst through to score last Friday at Anfield.

“That hurt us in that goal and that wasn’t the first time where we lacked a player in that position in the counter-attack for the other team.

Last season, Slot helped transform Gravenberch into one of the division’s outstanding performers, as he swapped a box-to-box role for that of a No. 6. Alongside Alexis Mac Allister, the Dutch international propelled the Reds to the title.

Judging by Slot’s comments, that midfield partnership could be set to return on the banks of the Tyne. “With Macca being back, with Ryan in his normal position, I expect us to be even better prepared for the counter-attack,” the ex-Feyenoord boss let slip in his pre-match press conference.

One would suspect the front three of Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo will retain their spots, with record Florian Wirtz again taking up a place as Liverpool’s No. 10.

If so, finding a spot for Dominik Szoboszlai could prove problematic.

Regardless, it’s impossible to imagine a starting XI against Newcastle in which one of last season’s regulars doesn’t miss out.

That represents a new problem for Slot to navigate this term after such a settled side in the first 12 months of his Anfield premiership. How does he sustain last season’s harmony and placidity while integrating the new signings?

As an example, just how the new-look midfield, likely centered around maximizing Wirtz’s output, will look has been a topic raised in passing over the summer. Now it’s staring Slot in the face for the first time.

Few think the established 2024-25 midfield triumvirate of Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai can now remain intact, and it’s the latter whose position looks increasingly under threat. During the summer and early weeks of the season, he has already seen his role changed to a deeper midfield berth and on the right flank, while Slot even suggested him as an option at right-back for Monday - although that feels a little far-fetched.

In the final 20 league matches of last term, Szoboszlai started 18. A similar scenario that this season seems increasingly unlikely, just a few months on from him being a mainstay of the team.

Rotation will inevitably be more common this campaign, but it may be Szoboszlai, more than anyone, who suffers most from the lavish summer transfer spree.

When the teams are announced at St James’ Park on Monday, there may finally be some evidence to support that theory.