BT Sport pundit Frank Lampard has pinpointed the right side of Liverpool’s defence as a potential problem ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City.
The Reds welcome City to Anfield on Wednesday for the first-leg of the last-eight tie after securing their progress with a comfortable 5-0 aggregate win over Porto in the last round.
Jurgen Klopp’s men remain the only side to beat City in the Premier League this season, coming away from Anfield with a 4-3 win in February.
In a column for the Evening Standard, Lampard has now highlighted right-back as a potential problem position for the Reds in their upcoming tie.
“There are so many factors in the first leg on Wednesday night but I will be interested to see who plays up against Sane at right-back for Liverpool.
“In their recent games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, there has been a question mark defensively on Liverpool’s right side. It will probably be Trent Alexander-Arnold, although Nathaniel Clyne is fit again after a long spell out through injury.
“This is a big area for City to target and I would bring David Silva in there as well — they will look at the space around Liverpool’s right centre-back and full-back,” he said.
OPINION
Lampard is probably correct in labelling right-back as a problem area for Liverpool on Wednesday, but in truth their whole defence could end up being an issue against Pep Guardiola’s rampant City. The back line was not exactly convincing in their late win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, with Joel Matip looking particularly shaky. Virgil van Dijk has managed to bring some sense of stability and solidity to the Reds’ defence, but there remain problems. Jurgen Klopp will likely have to dip into the transfer market this summer to bring in a more suitable partner for van Dijk, with Matip and Dejan Lovren not up to scratch.