“Slot has issue with him from last match?”, “Don’t like the idea” - Fans unhappy with 2 Liverpool superstars being dropped from line-up vs Everton

Liverpool fans on X (formerly Twitter) are unhappy with Arne Slot's decision to drop Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz for their Premier League clash against Everton on Saturday, September 20. The manager has opted to stick with Hugo Ekitike, who has started in all league matches, and move Dominik Szoboszlai to the midfield.

Slot has stuck with Alisson in goal, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate playing in the heart of the defence. Conor Bradley comes in at right back, while Milos Kerkez, who was taken off in the first half against Burnley and benched against Atletico Madrid, starts on the left.

Ryan Gravenberch keeps his place in the midfield, with Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister as his partners. Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo are on the wings, with Ekitike leading the attack.

The lineup sees Liverpool's record signings, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, being benched for the Merseyside derby. Many fans believe that the duo should have started the game and posted:

Liverpool have won the last four Merseyside derbies at Anfield, keeping a clean sheet in all matches. Their last loss to Everton at home in the Premier League was back in 2021, when Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurðsson scored to secure a 2-0 win for the Toffees.

Arne Slot spoke about possible formation change to accommodate two Liverpool stars

Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke to the media ahead of the Merseyside derby and admitted that he wants to keep playing with the 4-3-3 formation. However, he is open to switching to a 4-4-2, if players are unavailable and said (via club website):

"I consider, of course, because you consider many things and it depends always on how well they are doing, so if both of them are in the best form of their life you would even consider it more, playing them together. But it’s also clear that we have a certain structure, which has mainly been 4-3-3 [and] playing with three midfielders, but the amount of times we have, at the end phase of the game, played with two nines, that has happened quite a lot as well." "Hugo can indeed also play from the left differently from Cody [Gakpo] or Rio [Ngumoha] and that’s the good thing about our squad, we have multiple options. But first of all they all have to stay fit to have these options and if some of them are not fit then we might have to use them both in a 4-4-2. That all depends on the form of them and how many players we have available. All of them are fit now and I think I can maybe choose between 21 players, so that’s quite normal. It’s not that it’s far too much."

Liverpool are on top of the Premier League table with four wins from as many matches this season.

Edited by Sripad