Arne Slot has his hands full this week after four Liverpool defeats on the spin.
The Reds have been poor of late and their previous four games have yielded just three goals.
They also scored seven goals in that time in losses to Crystal Palace (2-1), Galatasaray (1-0), Chelsea (2-1) and Manchester United (2-1) respectively.
Slot, the club’s manager, has faced some criticism at the time, despite what has been a decent start to the Premier League season, where they sit third behind Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Dutchman’s tactical positioning has been the subject of questions and much debate among supporters, while his personnel selection has also been controversial at times.
Why are Liverpool struggling in the Premier League under Arne Slot?
And that’s where the 47-year-old will have to earn his keep this week when Liverpool take on Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The former head coach of Feyenoord will have to take big steps if he wants to stop the poor form that is already threatening to derail his team’s season.
But what exactly does Slot have to solve? Where can he make adjustments to his lineup that could lead to a morale-boosting victory in Europe?
We’ve looked at some of the issues for the boss to run through in his mind before tomorrow night’s clash at Deutsche Bank Park.
Hugo Ekitike or Alexander Isak in attack on Liverpool?
Alexander Isak cost a huge transfer fee after an exhausting summer saga that saw him force his move from Newcastle United.
But the Swedish forward appears to be suffering karmic retribution as he has seriously struggled to make any kind of impact at Anfield since that move.
Hugo Ekitike, meanwhile, cost £69 million and while that was a big chunk of change, it was a deal that was fairly straightforward and didn’t ruffle too many feathers.
Ekitike has found the net five times for the club in his 11 appearances so far, while Isak has scored just once in seven. So it was a questionable choice for Isak to start ahead of his French teammate against Manchester United.
The latter looked more dangerous after coming off the bench than Isak did against the Red Devils. Against his former club, he will probably know where the bodies are buried and what weaknesses Frankfurt will have.
Slot must decide whether to choose Ekitike from the start or continue trying to justify the Isak expenses.
Time for Liverpool to drop Mo Salah?
Like Isak, Mo Salah has had no problems so far this season.
The Egyptian king is the usual star for Liverpool, but he has found the going tough this season and it shows in his stats, where he has scored just three times in 11 games. One of them was from the penalty spot.
His self-confidence seems to have been affected and his form is failing, leaving Slot with a big decision.
There’s a good chance the manager will stick with his playmaker, with the 33-year-old needing just one game to rediscover his light.
But he will have to make a judgment call if it continues to hold his side back.
Find a way to bypass the low block
Slot complained to his own supporters after United’s defeat that their opponents made good use of the low block, making it difficult for the Reds to attack.
Isn’t that the reason a manager is employed by a club in the first place? To find answers to difficult questions?
Slot has more than £240 million worth of attacking and creative talent in his starting XI and more on the bench, so a Liverpool boss cannot complain about the tactics of opposition clubs.
For example, swapping Salah for a Jeremy Frimpong on the wing could give his team more width to play with. That in turn opens more doors for the attacking stars, allowing them to make more inventive and thoughtful runs in and around the box.
Alternatively, there is always the option for his defensive players to send the ball long so that his attackers can physically compete at the other end to mix things up.
Continuing with the same form and structure if things are not necessarily going well is not the right choice, the manager discovered.
He must be able to adapt.
Tackle Liverpool’s set-piece crisis
Liverpool have scored five goals from set pieces so far this season and it’s not even November yet.
Of the eleven goals in all competitions, almost half have come from corners or free kicks and that must be considered unacceptable for a team that wants to win trophies.
Better organization at the back is a must, otherwise they will continue to lose sloppy goals.
That rests with the manager on the training ground and with Frankfurt next, he will be tasked with solving this quickly in training today. Or at least want to lay the foundation for improvement.
Avoid short build-up games
Liverpool were so used to the passing talents of Trent Alexander-Arnold that they don’t seem to have learned how important this was for their counters.
The former Anfield right-back, now at Real Madrid, was so adept at switching play with a long, incisive pass to beat teammates who had isolated defenders in attack.
Conor Bradley doesn’t have the same skills in that part of his game and it hurts the team going forward.
That’s not an attempt to disparage Bradley, but it is a serious issue facing Slot’s side.
It means that more often than not they start building attacks that are much shorter and that forces their playmakers to drop deeper to pick up the ball.
Salah appears to be suffering and new signing Florian Wirtz has not started the season as the same player as he did at Bayer Leverkusen.
That’s partly down to his teammates asking him to sacrifice his starting position at the top of the pitch and him struggling to adapt properly.
Slot must find a way to get the German, 22, back to his best.
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