Liverpool's opening Premier League game against Newcastle is now less than a week away.
The Anfield outfit have made a few changes to their team since the end of the 2025-26 season but, if they're wanting to finish higher than fifth this term, they're going to need to add even more players to their ranks.
Luckily for them, however, Newcastle have also made wholesale changes to their starting XI as well.
Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon are just some of the players who have been allowed to leave St James' Park this summer.
Each team have plenty of their own problems to deal with ahead of the clash but, the Reds' main concern may have now been revealed.
David Lynch believes that Alexis Mac Allister will get ran through this seasonOne of the main changes in Liverpool's style of play this season will be the way that they are lined up.
When in charge of Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola lined his men up in a 4-2-3-1 formation which transitions to a 4-4-2 quite often.
Obviously, for Dominik Szobsozlai and Ryan Gravenberch who have got a lot of gas in the tank, this system works fairly well but, after Alexis Mac Allister more or less proved that he's forgotten how to run last term, it's unclear how well he will do as part of a two-person midfield.
Of course, we saw a completely different version of the midfielder at the 2026 World Cup but, even then, Lionel Scaloni used him as part of a midfield three.
And, from what Iraola has shown during pre-season, that will never be the case at Liverpool.
This has led to many debates emerging from Anfield and now, journalist David Lynch has said that one of his biggest worries for the season ahead is how Mac Allister is going to cope.
"He [Mac Allister] is a concern for me," he said to Anfield Index.
"All of the talk about Grav and Dom, Mac Allister is a bigger worry. He’s going to end up playing minutes in that two-man midfield, I think he’s going to get absolutely run through."
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Andoni Iraola needs to have his Liverpool squad sorted in the next couple of weeksWith the end of the summer transfer window now approaching, it's time for Liverpool to get serious and finalise their first-team squad.
Their pre-season friendlies are all finished with now and, on Sunday, they'll be taking part in their first game of the Premier League season.
Of course, there's still time for deals to be put into place and with Paris Saint-Germain having deals for another two attackers lined up which means that Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye could easily be on their way to L4 soon.
However, with time running out, it does feel like whatever additions or sales that Liverpool want to make need to be finalised as soon as possible.
If Fenway Sports Group want Iraola to bring joy and trophies back to Anfield, he needs to know which players he has at his disposal and which ones he sees as part of his starting XI.
But, if the Reds wait until deadline day to finalise their squad again, everything will be delayed.
Liverpool can't afford to have another transitional season, no matter how much they need it which is why every decision matters.
Here's hoping the Reds' fanbase gets a clear idea of what players Liverpool are going to have at their disposal soon.
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