2 weeks ago
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Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch is worried that Arne Slot doesn’t know who his preferred full-backs are, and still hasn’t found the right balance for his team.
The Reds return to action this weekend following the international break as they host Manchester United. They’ll be looking to end a three-game losing streak, having experienced a worrying slump just before the break.
Having sat five points ahead of Arsenal not too long ago, Liverpool now finds itself a point behind Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the Premier League table - a gap Slot and his players will be keen to not let grow.
The Reds’ head coach is still searching for the best way to line his new-look side up, with a lot of his players still trying to find some rhythm.
The likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have struggled to settle in following their record-breaking transfers, and the international break didn’t offer much respite for them.
And Liverpool has had issues in defense, with the full-backs still proving to be a problem as Milos Kerkez, Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong haven’t yet found their feet, with some pundits suggesting that Trent Alexander-Arnold is being missed after his move to Real Madrid.
While Crouch doesn’t go that far, he is concerned that Slot still doesn’t know what his best combination of players is.
"I was worried about the balance of the team,” Crouch told Paddy Power. “Wirtz has come out of that midfield three and it feels a little bit more solid, but they've still been conceding chances.
"Also, [Ibrahima] Konate's form. I think it's been difficult to bed in Frimpong and Kerkez and I still don't think he really knows who he wants to play at full-back.
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“If there was one standout player then I think they would have played a hell of a lot more. As good as Frimpong and Kerkez are, they are struggling to settle a bit."
Liverpool.com says: It does still feel like we’re some way off knowing what Liverpool’s best team is following the overhaul in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Wirtz and Isak feel as though they should be automatic picks, given the huge fees the Reds paid for them, but we just haven’t seen enough from them so far, and they need to find their feet quickly.
And so do the full-backs. Kerkez, Frimpong and Bradley have all been really disappointing so far, but apart from Andy Robertson, there isn’t much option beyond them, so they need improve quickly.
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