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Former Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson has been left unimpressed by Arne Slot's options in that position so far this season, with Milos Kerkez among those to draw criticism for his performances up to now.
Kerkez, signed from Bournemouth in the summer for a fee of around $54 million (£40 million), has struggled to adjust to life at Anfield, while none of Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, and Jeremie Frimpong have nailed down their spot.
Robertson struggled at times last season, Bradley has been inconsistent, and Frimpong has had a couple of injuries. And Johnson believes that his old position is becoming a problem for Liverpool.
"You can ask a few different people and they will all choose different full-backs," he told Ace Odds. "Which tells you that no one's grabbing that area by the scruff of the neck.
"Kerkez has come in: he's had some great games and then some, where he looks like he's trying to get sent off."
On Wednesday, Kerkez played the full 90 minutes against Crystal Palace in the League Cup, while Robertson was withdrawn in the second half. That could suggest that it will be the Scotland captain who starts against Aston Villa on Saturday.
And the big games continue to come thick and fast. Next Tuesday, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid will come to Anfield, and then there is a trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City.
"Conor Bradley, last year with Trent leaving, I thought there's no drama because Conor will bounce on and fill those shoes and take that role, and he hasn't," Johnson said.
"Jeremie Frimpong comes in as this new attacking right-back. I haven't seen him go forward that well at all — not in terms of like the expectations of how people were talking.
"It's almost like both areas are up for grabs. They're obviously all good players, but no one's really hit the ground running and kicked on. There's a reason why we couldn't name the number one left-back or number one right-back. That's why they're changing all the time."
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Calvin Ramsay came in and did a decent job in the League Cup, but it is unlikely that he will feature much in the coming weeks, regardless.
"I think Calvin had a very, very decent performance — calm on the ball," Slot said. "I don't know if I said it over here but [in] the first half-hour, I think we had better chances than them, actually, and he was part of that. He played with composure.
"A decent-to-good game for him. And I said also afterwards, if you make your debut after a 3-0 loss, you might feel very, very disappointed, but the two of you (Ramsay and Kieran Morrison) can be quite happy with the way you've played in your first time here at Anfield."
Liverpool.com says: Johnson is right that the Reds don't have first-choice full-backs at the moment, but each has quality. Kerkez, for instance, is only 21. In time, he will get used to the demands placed on him, and we saw last season how talented he is.
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