Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones leaves the game injured against Brentford(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

If Liverpool head coach Arne Slot could pick an opponent to play next, after seeing his side slip to a fourth straight Premier League loss, perhaps it would not be Crystal Palace. But that's exactly who the Reds will face at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Slot's bruised side will go into the Carabao Cup fourth-round clash on the back of a dispiriting 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday night that raised further questions over whether they stand any chance of retaining the league crown they won so emphatically last season.

It is fair to suggest that the League Cup is not top of the Liverpool head coach's priorities for a 2025-26 campaign that is in danger of going awry. But back in home comforts, after playing five of the last six games in all competitions away from Merseyside, Slot will be determined to get a win to lift his squad's shaky morale.