Arne Slot faces tough Ibrahima Konate decision as Liverpool consider another overhaul
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Liverpool Echo IconSportFootballLiverpool FCLiverpool are next up against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League with Arne Slot facing some selection posersThe bad times keep on coming for Liverpool after they slumped to a dreadful 3-0 Premier League defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon. The Reds are now down in the bottom half of the table and have effectively surrendered any remaining realistic hopes of defending the championship they lifted just six months ago.Arne Slot's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League with the visit of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven - who beat a much-changed Liverpool in January - on Wednesday evening.And here we look ahead to the changes Reds head coach Slot could make when his team are next in action.READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk issues brutal Liverpool statement as Arne Slot 'let down' by playersREAD MORE: Liverpool 15-year-old linked with Arsenal and Chelsea transfer scores againKonate questionThe pathetic loss to Forest was the first game in a run of seven in 22 days for Liverpool, with Slot having no option but to rotate his resources.Injuries, though, could limit his options, particularly at right-back where both Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are expected to be out for the entirety of that period.Dominik Szoboszlai started there against Forest with Joe Gomez left unused on the bench after missing training last Thursday.
Gomez, though, will surely coming into Slot's thinking, with Curtis Jones the only other realistic alternative with Calvin Ramsay not in the Champions League squad.However, the dire form of Ibrahima Konate could compel the Reds boss to recall Gomez at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk, with teenager Giovanni Leoni out for the season.Andy Robertson will challenge Milos Kerkez at left-back while Alisson Becker is back as the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Giorgi Mamardashvili and Freddie Woodman.Wirtz absenceMidfield is fast becoming another major concern for Slot given the lack of protection for the backline in recent games.Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister have been the double pivot, although there was a switch towards a more conventional 4-3-3 for parts of the defeat to Forest with Gravenberch the deeper of the duo.Wataru Endo is a more defensive option but has started only seven games in more than 12 months and only one in the Champions League under Slot. The versatile Szoboszlai and Jones can also drop into a deeper role.The expected absence of Florian Wirtz with a muscle issue could mean Szoboszlai moving back into an attacking midfield role, with Jones having started in the engine room last time out.Trey Nyoni, the 18-year-old midfielder, hasn't made a matchday squad in the Champions League this season and has instead been skippering the U19s in the UEFA Youth League.Isak dropped?The ongoing travails of Alexander Isak would make Hugo Ekitike a strong favourite to regain his starting place against PSV in the central attacking role, with Federico Chiesa another option.
Teenager Jayden Danns remains sidelined.Chiesa could also press Mohamed Salah for a place on the right wing, although it seems unlikely the Egyptian will be rested ahead of his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations next month.Cody Gakpo was recalled on the left against Forest but, with Wirtz out, Chiesa and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha - who made only his second Premier League appearance in two months at the weekend from the bench - are the alternatives.