Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists he is “completely happy” with his squad despite recent suggestions that he was worried about the depth available to him.
The Reds were dumped out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night after a 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, with Slot opting to field a largely youthful and inexperienced side.
The Dutchman handed starts to three teenagers and named another five among his substitutes, making 10 changes from the team that lost 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday, their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.
After the Palace game, Arne Slot admitted his team selection “gives a little bit of insight” into the squad depth he is working with.
He also pointed out that Manchester City and Chelsea were able to rotate heavily without compromising quality as both clubs advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
However, ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa at Anfield, Slot has backtracked on those comments, insisting he remains satisfied with his options.
Liverpool have endured a dramatic dip in form after a blistering start to the season.
Having won their opening seven matches across all competitions, the Reds have now lost six of their last seven.
That slump has seen them slip to seventh in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, leading some supporters to question whether Slot remains the right man to take the club forward.
This difficult spell follows a record-breaking summer of investment at Anfield.
The club spent £415million, the biggest outlay in European football history, to assemble a star-studded squad. The previous record belonged to Chelsea, who spent £400million in the summer of 2023.
Liverpool were even prepared to spend a further £35 million on Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi before the deal collapsed late in the transfer window.
Striker Alexander Isak became the final addition on 1 September, joining from Newcastle United for a British-record £125million fee.
The 26-year-old missed pre-season after training alone to force through the move to Merseyside.
The Reds have also had to contend with injuries to several key players, including Alisson, Jeremie Frimpong, and Ryan Gravenberch, during the early months of the campaign.
“We miss nothing,” Slot said.
“I am completely happy with the team and with all the quality that we have.”
“I am completely convinced by the strategy and the policy that we have but that makes the issue – if you call it an issue – is not all of them have had a proper pre-season or have been injured,” Slot added.
“When three or four are injured you go back to 16 players. I am a firm believer that 20 or 21 players is enough but you have to keep them fit as we did last season.
“Alex [Isak] is a great example of this. A few others have missed out on pre-season or had injuries during pre-season.
“It has been more difficult than last season to keep them all available and if a few of them are not available, it comes down a lot to the same players.
“Maybe last season we were more lucky and now we are more unlucky.”
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