Ordinarily, a place in the fifth round of the Carabao Cup might not represent a sizable of reward for a Liverpool manager. But as Arne Slot continues to assess the wreckage of a run that has seen him lose five of the last six, victory against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night is now almost imperative.

Passage to the next stage of the Cup won't be as prized as a win itself though, as Liverpool go about dodging the avalanche of debate and criticism that has rolled in their direction at some pace since the start of this run at the end of September.

Inevitably, the critiquing and the analysis of the problems have been intense in recent weeks and Slot's admission that he has yet to counteract the fact that the opposition have essentially figured out a blueprint to success against the Premier League champions has caused some concern.

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Continue Reading: Arne Slot knows the statistic that needs changing to force Liverpool turnaround