Slot can drop Wirtz by unleashing Liverpool's new Sadio Mane

Liverpool need to get back on track in the Premier League, with the defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week keeping Arne Slot's side sixth in the standings and therefore outside the Champions League places.

However, they avenged that defeat in the FA Cup and now have the chance to return to winning ways with a win over Tottenham Hotspur, who are in an imperilled position in 17th place.

Spurs have huge problems on the fitness front, and with the Anfield factor, this is a game that the Reds should really be winning, and failure to do so will leave a sour taste across Merseyside.

Slot has intimated his plan to resist making wholesale changes even with the schedule intensifying, but that doesn't mean he won't ring a few changes ahead of next week's return leg against Galatasaray, trailing 1-0 after a dismal performance in Istanbul.

How Liverpool can defeat Spurs

Nothing is certain in football, but there will be an expectation across the Anfield crowds that Liverpool will defeat Tottenham on Sunday. Igor Tudor could be sacked at any moment, and the relegation-threatened side have been shorn of depth.

As many as 13 first-team players could miss the Premier League clash, but Liverpool have proved themselves to be their own worst enemies this season, and complacency could allow Spurs to grow in confidence.

Liverpool need to make a fast start, and this has proved difficult for Slot's side, with just 17 of their 48 top-flight goals this season coming before the break.

This might require a few tactical tweaks, and given that Florian Wirtz looked somewhat off the pace against Galatasaray in the Champions League, dropping him might be on Slot's mind, keeping Dominik Szoboszlai as the all-action number ten.

Of course, many fans wouldn't want to see Cody Gakpo returning to the starting line-up. The Dutch winger has been among the most criticised players at Liverpool this season, too predictable in the final third.

Instead, the boss could give the fans what they want to see and start Liverpool's new Sadio Mane.

Slot must hand Liverpool's new Mane

Recently, Rio Ngumoha has gone from strength to strength in Liverpool's senior squad, excelling in both matches against Wolves.

There have been calls for the 17-year-old to start over Gakpo, and he might just get his wish this weekend, bringing matchless pace and a directness on the ball that offers an echo of Mane down the left wing for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. Analyst Raj Chohan recently noted that he's providing "the dribbling threat on the flank that Liverpool were badly missing."

He was full of energy in recent fixtures against Wolves, a real livewire who came close to scoring a number of times and outdrove his opponents on the ball.

In time, his sharpness in the final third will improve, and he will begin to affect games in more impactful ways. He is already an electrifying presence, capable of lifting fans from their seats and eliciting groans from the opposition, and as he matures physically, Slot must surely see the benefit in unleashing him from the opening whistle in the Premier League.

He hasn't started a league match this season, but with substitute appearances in each of Liverpool's past three fixtures, it feels like that milestone will soon be reached.

Wirtz is above Ngumoha in the pecking order, but he didn't look fit against Gala after spending several weeks on the sidelines, injured. The German playmaker will be needed in the Champions League fightback on Wednesday, so it might be worth unleashing him in the second half against Spurs.

Liverpool have struggled to combine Slot's desire to retain possession with speedy and precise attacking play, resulting in stagnancy and frustrations over sterile football.

Ngumoha is a difference-maker, and he could be the perfect extra dimension to beat Spurs and lift Liverpool back into the ascendancy over the next few months.

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