As Liverpool prepare for their third and fourth games of pre-season, there are plenty of questions fans have been asking that Arne Slot should answer with his actions.
As with any group of friendly matches, the results should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, we may be able to begin gleaming information on how Liverpool will line up this season.
While the main aim of the fixtures against AC Milan and Yokohama FM is to build the players’ fitness, Slot will also be looking to instil his tweaked tactical approach and integrate the new signings.
Here are five questions we hope Slot answers on Liverpool’s pre-season tour.
How will Liverpool deploy Florian Wirtz?
We can’t say this will be the very first time we will have seen Florian Wirtz play, as many of you will have viewed clips of him nonchalantly linking play in the behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke.
However, this will be the first time we watch him live as a Liverpool player.
It will be interesting to see in which role Slot deploys him, after he played in a fairly free attacking midfield role against Stoke. This would differ hugely from the more disciplined role of the Reds’ most-advanced midfielder last year.
The German’s signing is an indication of Liverpool changing their approach to chance creation, and pre-season is the first opportunity to see how this will look.
As Mo Salah leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations in December, this could be one option to help cope with the Egyptian’s absence.
Will we see Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley playing together?
Liverpool’s move for Jeremie Frimpong initially came as a surprise for some who, having seen him play as a right wing-back in Bayer Leverkusen‘s back five, questioned why Slot would want him for a back four.
However, upon further inspection after two pre-season outings, his versatility is clearly an attribute of which the Reds wanted to take advantage.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold out the door, Conor Bradley and Frimpong are now Slot’s two right-back options.
Intriguingly, against Stoke, both players featured together in the second half, Frimpong occupying a more advanced role on the right as Bradley often took up positions further infield, something Slot’s full-backs at Feyenoord tended to do.
How will Liverpool cope with just three centre-backs?
The obvious answer to this is that they won’t. Instead, they should sign a defender before the window shuts.
However, on the tour, they have just three centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez; therefore, they will have to mend and make do.
In the first two games of pre-season, we have seen Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas and young Luca Stephenson all fill in, but these won’t be seen as long-term options.
It is worth noting, though, that players are often played out of position in these friendlies just to give them game time, not necessarily indicating where they will feature in the season ahead.
Wataru Endo also travels and could play a part when needed, as could Ryan Gravenberch, who could find himself dropping deep plenty this season as Liverpool change their build-up style.
How fit is Alexis Mac Allister?
Injury kept Alexis Mac Allister from playing in Liverpool’s final two games of last season, and that problem appears to have persisted over the summer.
Due to the issue, the Argentine was not called up for his nation’s internationals and he hasn’t featured in either of the Reds’ pre-season friendlies so far.
However, it is a positive sign that he was brought on the tour despite missing some of the squad’s training sessions on Merseyside.
Hopefully, we see a return to action for the 26-year-old who hasn’t started a match since April 27, when Liverpool beat Tottenham 5-1 to secure the Premier League title.
What does Hugo Ekitike look like in a Liverpool kit?
With an initial fee of £69 million agreed with Eintracht Frankfurt, Hugo Ekitike is set to fly to Merseyside on Tuesday for his medical, before joining up with the team in Asia.
Given Liverpool don’t play their games until July 26 and July 30, there is every chance we could see Ekitike involved as Slot attempts to integrate him quickly.
If he does play, he won’t be wearing Liverpool’s new kit, however. The new Adidas strip won’t be launched until the beginning of August.
* You can follow all Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies live with All Red Video, the new video offering from the club that replaces LFCTV. Purchase All Red Video here.
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