Liverpool FC News: Arne Slot to give OPPORTUNITY to midfielder in new role | OneFootball

Liverpool are short of forwards right now and yet the ongoing discussion within the fanbase right now is primarily about the multitude of options Arne Slot should consider for the trip to Newcastle.

The Reds travel to Tyneside towards the back-end of the weekend for a Monday night clash against the Magpies, in what is expected to be a fierce clash between two teams with tribalistic fanbases.

🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range

🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨

LFC x adidas

Shop the away range TODAY

LFC x adidas

Shop the home range today!

LFC x adidas

Shop the goalkeeper range today

LFC x adidas

Shop the new adidas range today!

Alexander Isak's situation has lit a fire under this fixture and the pitch at St James' Park is more likely to be considered a battlefield once the two sides have survived 90 minutes of high-stakes action.

Newcastle have usurped the Reds two of their last three fixtures, winning 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley and nicking a 3-3 draw in Liverpool's last away clash against them. Given all the adversity that they've been through, Slot will know to anticipate a really intense encounter.

🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas away range

In order to come out of the match unscathed and with three points, a few changes might have to be made to the team and while some have been enforced through injury, others may be tactical tweaks.

Wirtz to be deployed at left-wing?

Liverpool know that the midfield three of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton is capable of causing them problems, as it has done in the past. A solution to combat their intensity will need to be concocted and simply playing with more midfielders to over-run their engine room might be the key.

Ryan Gravenberch is expected to return to the side and Alexis Mac Allister alongside him would create a really solid base, which Liverpool depended on so much last season. Ahead of them, you might expect Florian Wirtz, but Curtis Jones could be deployed if the German is utilised on the left.

Dropping an in-form Cody Gakpo would be a bold decision, but Wirtz would be allowed to have a bit of a free role, giving us four midfielders on the pitch that can smother Eddie Howe's midfield trio.

In this scenario, we might also find Dominik Szoboszlai playing at right-back, since it's now been confirmed that Jeremie Frimpong is out until the international break with a hamstring injury, while Conor Bradley is return form his spell out and Joe Gomez is still unable to train regularly yet.

The team in that shape would be: Alisson Becker, Milos Kerkez, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Jones, Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah.

Alternatively, we might see a return to the masterplan that Slot unveiled against Manchester City last season when the Reds visited the Etihad Stadium and secured a historic 2-0 win, where everything goes more centrally, with either a 4-2-2-2 formation or a 4-2-4 type of setup. Let me explain.

Mac Allister and Gravenberch in a double-pivot seems likely and ahead of them, you could see Wirtz and Szoboszlai playing as twin No. 10s, pressing high up the pitch, while Salah and one of Ekitike or Gakpo plays in an attacking pairing. This would be another way Slot could get four midfielders in.

At right-back, the solution would need to involve Jones or Wataru Endo given the situation and neither are ideal for the role, but we're left with limited options. In that instance, the team above would only change marginally, but the attacking shape would not be the 4-3-3 we often play with.

Of course, since the team is still getting to know one another, any changes from the Bournemouth clash could be as minimal as bringing Gravenberch in for Szoboszlai and moving the Hungarian to right-back, keeping everything the same. It just depends if the intensity levels are there, so we don't see a repeat of the last few times we've played Newcastle where we've been totally over-run.

And to think, this is all in spite of just having three main forward options and versatile midfielders, imagine the team's flexibility if a striker and a winger are brought in before the window closes.