Paul Merson gives Arne Slot clear advice on Liverpool problem position vs Newcastle

Paul Merson has offered Arne Slot some clear advice ahead of Liverpool taking on Newcastle United, with the Reds in need of their first Premier League win in 2026

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson.(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Paul Merson says Liverpool should field Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back after Jeremie Frimpong limped off midweek against Qarabag, with fellow defender Conor Bradley also sidelined at the moment.

Arne Slot has five players absent as Newcastle comes to Anfield in the Premier League — Frimpong, Bradley, Alexander Isak, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez — but Ibrahima Konate is back following the death of his father and Curtis Jones has overcome his illness. The latter has been linked with Inter Milan, but it is understood that Liverpool has no intention of letting anyone leave right now.

"After the injury to Frimpong, I expect Szoboszlai to play right-back in this game," Merson wrote for Sportskeeda.

"Newcastle have strong wide players like Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, so I don’t think Liverpool will use Wataru Endo like they did against Qarabag.

"Szoboszlai is the best available choice at right-back because he has done quite well playing there, but Liverpool haven’t been as dominant as they have been in midfield this season. If you take Szoboszlai out of that midfield, you have another big gap to fill there."

Frimpong's injury is not as bad as first feared, though he will be sidelined for a few weeks. Bradley, meanwhile, could miss the rest of the season after he picked up a serious knee issue.

Dominik Szoboszlai during a Liverpool training session.(Image: Nikki Dyer - Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"I think I showed last season that one of the things I like is consistency and playing as much as I can with the same players," Arne Slot said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"That is what I've done at all my clubs every single time, which I've shown to England last season. Unfortunately, for all the obvious reasons, which I'm not going to go into again because people get so bored if I do this every time, I haven't been able to play many times with the same line-up.

"Even within games, I have to — sometimes have to, sometimes think I need to — make so many substitutions So, that's far from ideal, I can tell you that, but we accept the situation as it is and we make the best out of it.

"That's why I have so much respect for the players, that no matter how many setbacks we have, no matter how many times we concede a goal in the last minute, if the next game arrives, from the start they're immediately there to give everything they have.

"That has not always been enough to win as many games as we are used to at Liverpool — that's also clear, but that is 99 out of 100 times not due to effort from my players."

Liverpool.com says: Wataru Endo would be the other option to fill in at right-back but Newcastle has lots of speed and dynamism out wide, whether it is Anthony Gordon or Harvey Barnes who plays down that flank.

Endo vs one of those two flying wingers could be a real problem for Liverpool given the 32-year-old's limited mobility. He did well against Qarabag midweek, but that was a completely different level of game to this one.