Gary Neville on same wavelength as Jamie Carragher with Arne Slot verdict

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Liverpool has shown some signs of recovery in recent games, with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher in agreement about the tactics that Arne Slot has turned to lately

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has offered his opinion(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are on the same page about how Liverpool can continue its upward trajectory under Arne Slot into 2026 — though the Reds boss might be hamstrung by injuries.

The two pundits believe that shoring up the midfield department is the way forward for Liverpool to continue making positive progress on ensuring it finishes in the Champions League places.

But with so many players sidelined through injury, Slot might not have much choice when it comes to team selection in the next couple of weeks. Alexander Isak could be missing for a substantial period, while Conor Bradley also limped off against Spurs.

"With Salah at AFCON, you may think of putting Isak and Ekitike out there together, but Slot is absolutely right to try to shore up that midfield," Gary Neville said on Sky Sports' coverage of Liverpool's win at Tottenham.

That was before Isak came off the bench to open the scoring. Unfortunately, the Swede then picked up a problem with his left leg, with fears he could be absent for some time.

Playing with just one of Ekitike or Isak, with an extra man in the middle of the field, has been the preferred system for Liverpool of late. Curtis Jones has been playing well and Florian Wirtz has been improving.

Arne Slot reacts during Liverpool's game against Tottenham(Image: Getty Images)

However, Dominik Szoboszlai is suspended for the visit of Wolves on Saturday after he collected his fifth booking of the campaign.

That leaves Slot with very few options, with Mohamed Salah now at AFCON.

"It is not about diffusing," Jamie Carragher explained to Ian Wright on Stick To Football this week when the pair discussed Salah not coming off the bench against Leeds United at Elland Road.

"It is about a manager trying to get three points who is fighting for his life. Liverpool were 2-0 up, you're not going to bring Mo Salah on. You don't need a goal.

"It then goes 2-2, but the guy who is playing in his position scores (Szoboszlai). So Slot didn't get it wrong. The reason Salah is not playing is because the three games before, Liverpool were conceding a lot of goals.

"He started on the bench against West Ham, and I would have played him against Sunderland, but he came on at half-time. After the game, Slot spoke about how strong Liverpool was defensively. He is focusing on defending and clean sheets."

Ideally, that strengthened midfield set-up would be the way forward for Liverpool. With such limited options available, though, there might not be much in the way of a choice.