With Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold absent for the rest of the month, Liverpool are likely to be without both for the next four games. So how will they adapt?
Jurgen Klopp is proving once again this season why he is arguably the best manager in the world. Liverpool sit top of the Premier League and are still in all three cup competitions, with the League Cup final agonizingly close.
This season he has constantly demonstrated his ability to adapt the team to different game situations.
Liverpool’s League Cup victory over Fulham was the seventh time the Reds have won a game, despite conceding the first goal, in all competitions this season. That is the most of any team in England’s top four tiers in 2023-24.
However, the absence of Alexander-Arnold and Salah, at least for the next three games, raises a different question for Klopp and company.
Attempts so far
With Dominic Szoboszlai also absent for the League Cup match against Fulham, Liverpool fielded a new right-back, featuring Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott.
The former was brilliant, providing width and working tirelessly to make a difference in the final third, as well as defending astutely.
Gravenberch worked hard in midfield, producing moments where his talent shined, but in the end he did not provide the defensive advantage that Szoboszlai has: the Dutchman lost 10 of his 12 duels on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Elliott continues to divide his fans, and perhaps the coach, over where it would be best to deploy him in the coming weeks.
With Ben Doak injured and Kaide Gordon seemingly not a viable option, for Liverpool to play on the left foot in Salah’s position, Elliott would have to take over.
He played in this position against Arsenal, but Klopp was forced to switch because the team was under pressure and Elliott was unable to give Liverpool the ball they needed.
The same was true against Fulham, but at home against lesser opposition one would have expected him to be more effective: there were still times when Liverpool missed Salah’s speed when running into space.
This is how Liverpool started against Fulham:
What changed in the games?
The coaching staff came up with slightly different solutions to Liverpool’s problems in the first half of their last two games.
Against Arsenal, Elliott returned to midfield, swapping with Gakpo, who started there, before Jota replaced the Dutchman and Luis Díaz headed to the right side, where Elliott had started the game.
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The match against Fulham was similar, but this time Elliott was replaced by Gakpo as Liverpool switched to a formation closer to 4-2-3-1.
This meant an offensive alignment of Núñez on the left and Jota in the middle, with Díaz and Gakpo operating further to the right.
How Liverpool finished against Fulham:
Any other solution?
Szoboszlai is a potential option to play on the right, where he played most of his minutes last season with RB Leipzig.
Gordon is another who could feature, but the fact he hasn’t played against Fulham or Arsenal suggests that won’t happen.
The key for Liverpool in the coming weeks will be their versatility and ability to adapt in the game, one of the Reds’ greatest strengths this season. The names on the sheet would be arbitrary in a perfect world.
Pep Lijnders spoke about how Liverpool’s biggest asset can be their system, and that individual quality comes second to the biggest chance-creation method: counter-pressing.
The second coach explained that the ‘reds’ have “many weapons, so there is no one irreplaceable”, before adding that “as long as there is counterpressure, everything else is replaceable.”
Without Alexander-Arnold making defense-splitting passes, this is especially critical. While he will be absent, which will only be for three games with any luck, it will be about getting wins.
Liverpool have a one-goal lead heading into the second leg of the League Cup, a tie they should win. The last time the Reds lost a game by more than one goal was on April 1, 2023, a 4-1 against Man City at the Etihad.
The FA Cup fourth round match, against Norwich or Bristol Rovers, is also a match that will hopefully not cause problems.
That leaves the trip to Bournemouth as the biggest enigma for Klopp and his staff. That’s when they really make the money from him.
