Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp should look at Thomas Tuchel's fresh approach at Chelsea as a blueprint that could help get their Premier League form back on track.
That is according to former Arsenal and England ace Paul Merson, who believes Liverpool should change their style and go to a three-man defence in an attempt to get their mojo back.
The Reds suffered a sixth successive Premier League home defeat on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Fulham, meaning they are now seven points shy of Chelsea in fourth-place.
Whilst Klopp's side's recent collapse has been nothing short of unbelievable, it is important to remember that they have been stripped of the spine of their team. If losing Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez was not bad enough, Liverpool have also had to combat the losses of Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson, who had been forced to slot in at centre-back in the absence of the aforementioned trio, and January recruit Ozan Kabak.
With the injury issues at centre-back growing, the Reds had to call upon inexperienced duo Rhys Williams and Nathanial Phillips to go in the centre of the back-four against Fulham, but they were powerless to avoid another Anfield setback.
With that in mind, Merson, who has admitted that the three at-the-back system suits Chelsea perfectly, believes Klopp should have ditched his back-four and opted to go with a back-three, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson acting as the wing-backs.
“If there was one team in the country that could play with a back three, I thought it was Chelsea," Merson told Sky Sports.
“They have actually got wing-backs rather than just full-backs, if I’m being honest, and the switch has worked a treat.
“If you look at Liverpool at the moment, it’s probably the way they should have gone. When you look back at it now, Jurgen Klopp should have been a bit more flexible and thought we don’t really have good defenders without Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
“Maybe he should have been flexible and switched to a back three to give the players a bit more protection and also, they have wing-backs too in Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who like to go forward more than they do defending as well.
“Tuchel has come in and spotted that at Chelsea, and Klopp could have learnt a bit of a lesson from that."
Whilst Merson may have a point, considering just how well Chelsea have adapted to their new-look system under Tuchel, it is worth questioning who would make up a back-three for Liverpool out of those currently available for selection.
But to Tuchel's credit, Merson suggesting that Liverpool should take a leaf out his book highlights just how big an impact the former Paris Saint-Germain chief has had on the Premier League since his arrival in January.
Tuchel soon ditched the Blues' four at-the-back approach and went to a back-three, with three central defenders being offered a sense of protection by a double pivot ahead of them and the wing-backs out wide.
Both Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi have done well down the right whilst Marcos Alonso and Ben Chilwell have regularly interchanged on the opposite flank.
