Liverpool have suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since March.
It’s something which, for Arne Slot, will feel like uncharted territory, especially given the nature of his side’s defeat in the UEFA Champions League against Galatasaray on Tuesday in Istanbul.
But as the age-old saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and the Reds have since been dealt a further blow, with Slot now set to hand a Premier League debut to one member of his squad at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
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Arne Slot set to hand Premier League debut out at Stamford Bridge
Liverpool boss Arne Slot isn’t one to chop and change (Image credit: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Slot’s Liverpool side has been built on consistency. The Dutchman will be frustrated to have lost a key member of his squad in Europe, especially given his backline has been ultra-tight ever since his arrival last summer.
But now is where Slot will be tested most to turn things around, but with Chelsea to come on Saturday, he will have to do so with a new face in between the sticks.
Alisson was taken off after 59 minutes in Turkey and is set for a spell on the sidelines (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ever-present goalkeeper Alisson, ranked at no.2 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best goalkeepers in the world right now, was substituted during the defeat against Okan Buruk’s side at Rams Park, and according to Slot, will play no part against the Blues.
That means former Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will step in and make his Premier League debut, with Liverpool’s head coach confirming so after defeat on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League.
“If my player is on the floor, nine out of ten times I fear the worst – and by that I mean he cannot continue,” began Slot in his post-match press conference. “It’s never positive if you go off like this. You can be sure he is not playing Saturday.”
Given Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni can now also be added to the injury list, Liverpool may have to call upon the likes of Federico Chiesa once more, who found the net at Selhurst Park in the 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Hugo Ekitike is also currently sidelined with injury (Image credit: Getty Images)
“It’s difficult,” said Slot, when asked if squad rotation and injuries are playing a key role in Liverpool’s recent poor form. “There can be so many reasons why an individual makes an error pass or a mistake. What you see is, and I think I explained this many times, is that there are a few players from us that missed pre-season so you simply cannot play them every single [game].
“Well, you can but then that could become a risk of players becoming injured. We have seen this more and more because the demands go up more and more and if the demands go up you have to prepare players for these demands. That means it is not always that I want to rotate but sometimes I need to because a player is not ready to play three times 90 minutes in seven or eight days.”
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