Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has insisted that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will have to be more conservative after the loss of Virgil van Dijk.
The Reds' star defender will undergo surgery on an ACL tear in the comings days which will see him ruled out of action long-term.
Whilst the club are yet to put a timescale on Van Dijk's recovery, the Dutchman is likely to miss at least six months of action.
As a result, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are Liverpool's only senior centre-backs, having sold Dejan Lovren to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer.
Without Van Dijk, Johnson believes that Alexander-Arnold and Robertson will have to curb their attacking instincts somewhat to ensure Liverpool aren't exposed defensively.
"He's the number one player Liverpool certainly didn't want to lose," Johnson told The Mirror.
"He's one of those players that everyone performs better when he's out there, there are no two ways about it, he'll be missed.
"There's nothing better as an attacking full-back to think 'oh actually, I don't need to run back because I know that Van Dijk is there, or John Terry is there. You just know they're going to win the ball.
"If you look over your shoulder and it's somebody else then you don't get that confidence, and then you have to be in totally different positions.
"We've seen it over the years with Trent. Sometimes defensively he's got into some terrible positions, but it doesn't matter because Van Dijk will be mopping up behind and making it all look very easy.
"Both full-backs will have to change."
With Gomez and Matip both having injury issues of their own, Fabinho could also step into defence.
The Brazilian did so alongside Van Dijk at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and earned rave reviews with a man-of-the-match performance.
"I personally think it will be Fabinho who slots in there," Johnson added, when asked who could replace Van Dijk.
"We saw him do it a couple of weeks ago (in the 2-0 win at Chelsea ) and he was man of the match, so he could be the one who slots in. As long as he can maintain that sort of level then I don't think it will be too much of an issue.
"You have to have centre-halves who are good and composed on the ball. Teams will show a team like Liverpool respect, so they won't be pressing all the time from the front.
"You need players at the back who can set the game up, and I think Fabinho can certainly do that, because obviously he's very good on the ball and used to playing in midfield.
"Of course they'd much rather be going into games with Van Dijk, but I do think Fabinho can step in."
