Liverpool have already made themselves the team to beat this season.
The Reds have won their first four Premier League games and will be looking to continue that streak against Atletico Madrid in their Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Both teams will be looking to make a name for themselves on the grandest stage of all, with Arne Slot likely wanting his team to do much better than they did last term.
Indeed, they were knocked out by the eventual winners of the Champions League, but they still should have dug their heels in and tried to make it past the Round of 16.
Going into the tie on Wednesday evening, Liverpool have a couple of question marks about the availability of their players, with some guaranteed to be out while others are 50/50.
Liverpool would be silly to start Alexis Mac Allister after Diego Simeone said his team will do anything to “hurt” their opponents
Although Alexis Mac Allister is one of Liverpool’s best midfielders, the fact that he’s not been fully fit all season is a cause for concern.
Indeed, he has featured for the Reds on the odd occasion this term, but since he didn’t manage to have a full pre-season, he’s still not ready to play a full 90 minutes.
This was made abundantly clear during the international break when Argentina’s manager, Lionel Scaloni, admitted that Mac Allister wasn’t 100 per cent fit to play.
And, even though Curtis Jones is ruled out of the clash, that doesn’t mean the Argentinian should be risked for the game, especially after what Simeone said his team will do.
“They are direct, they have very quick transitions, they interpret the game in a very simple way to get players into the box, they use their wide players and they have a wonderful centre-back who can knock the ball around,” he said in quotes relayed by BBC Sport.
“This simplicity of the game is something that maybe some people don’t see, how hard they work, how good their footballers are, and their manager did wonderful, extraordinary things last season.
“We will face a tough opponent, but we have the intention of bringing the game to where we want it to go. I am looking at getting better, playing a fantastic opponent in a stadium I love.
“We will try to hurt them in the game whenever we can.”
That last line is what’s causing alarm bells to ring, especially if he’s played from the start.
Dominik Szoboszlai could fill in for Alexis Mac Allister against Atletico Madrid
Although Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of Liverpool’s best players this season, he’s often been played out of position.
The midfielder has been used as Slot’s right-back this term due to the injuries that players such as Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, and Joe Gomez all suffered at the start of the season.
Many expected the Hungarian to be Liverpool’s weak spot in their games against Newcastle and Arsenal, but instead, he was actually one of their best players.
| Games | Goals | Assists |
| 5 | 1 | 1 |
In fact, against Arsenal, he even scored the winning goal of the game; however, with Mac Allister still not 100 per cent fit and Jones ruled out, the former RB Leipzig man may have to be moved forward into his natural position.
At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess what could happen, but with the amount of creativity that Liverpool will need to break down Atletico’s low block, Szoboszlai could once again become a key cog in Slot’s plans.
That is, even though Mac Allister has been described as an “unbelievable” player by Alan Shearer.
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