Arne Slot has to pick three Liverpool players in Frankfurt - they are the future of the club
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Liverpool Echo IconSportFootballLiverpool FCThe second part of John Aldridge's ECHO column looks ahead to Wednesday's Champions League trip to Eintracht FrankfurtThe Liverpool FC, Tranmere and Republic of Ireland great, Aldo's lively and opinionated weekly column on LFC is a must read for all Reds fans.The confidence levels are so low at Liverpool right now and this is where Arne Slot really earns his corn as a manager. It's Eintracht Frankfurt up next in the Champions League and while the frustration of the defeat to Manchester United will linger for some time, this is a good opportunity to get back to winning ways.It's the worst run since November 2014 currently, so victory is a must in Germany on Wednesday, particularly given the defeat to Galatasaray last time out in this competition.The question is does Slot keep the same formula in the hope of finding a settled team or does he make changes and look for an impact from different personnel?READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk makes new Liverpool pledge as Man United push Reds towards unwanted recordREAD MORE: Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson bond as Liverpool man takes out Man United anger on Anfield turfFor my money, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak are the future of the club.
We know he hasn't played much but now is the time to start to show why the club moved heaven and earth for him in the summer. I said in last week's column that now is the time to start looking at him as close to 100% as possible and he needs the time to show how good we know he is.He showed at Newcastle United exactly why he was so feared in the Premier League but the pressure is on him currently.
He's a great striker but it's time to start showing it in Liverpool red now.Wirtz made an impact against Manchester United and the manager has to find a place in the team for him now.The creative midfielder has done okay generally but you are still waiting for him to come to the party and Ekitike has so far been the only summer signing who has shown what he is really all about.So Ekitike has to start against his former club. It could be a good time to bring him out the firing line for a game or two.There is a world-class forward line at Liverpool but finding the balance is the major one for Slot to get right now.