The four players Arne Slot needs to start trusting IMMEDIATELY

Liverpool have exited two competitions in less than a week. First they slipped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage against Paris Saint-Germain on penalties at Anfield. Then they lost to Newcastle in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.

Although the Reds are still top of the league, their momentum has ground to a halt of late. Arne Slot will have to breathe new life into his team in order to get the 16 points required to wrap up the title.

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One thing that became clear against PSG and Newcastle is the core 12/13 players that Slot relies upon is getting tired. He failed to use lesser matches earlier in the season to keep his best performers fit and in shape.

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As such, some are running out of energy towards the run-in. But it didn’t have to be like this. He could have rotated his players - not necessarily against PSG or Newcastle - and had a fresh squad to pick from in the big games.

But we all know Slot has his favourites and it would take a miracle for him to consider alternatives. Liverpool need to be firing on all cylinders - starting against Everton in the first game back after the international break - in order to wrap up the title.

Here we run through the players Slot SHOULD turn to in order to preserve his superstars.

Harvey Elliott

The 21-year-old playmaker has only played around 120 Premier League minutes all season long. And no matter the deficiencies in the players contesting his position, Elliott can’t seem to force a look in.

He can cover for Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo but Arne Slot just doesn’t seem to trust the England under-21 international.

He has bailed Liverpool out a few times this season - a goal against Paris Saint-Germain and an assist against Brentford - but he immediately goes back to the bench after his cameos.

Perhaps his performance in the Carabao Cup final will make his coach sit up and take notice. He delivered another assist and provided the creative spark Liverpool were sorely lacking.

Wataru Endo

It’s obvious to anyone paying attention that Ryan Gravenberch is spent.

Having barely missed a minute throughout the first half of the season, the Dutchman has been substituted in four of his last eight top-flight games, two of his last three outings in the Champions League and again in the cup final on Sunday.

It’s not that he’s playing badly, but the rigours of holding down Liverpool’s midfield on his own are beginning to take their toll.

By no means are we suggesting that Gravenberch should have been rested at Wembley but Slot has missed the opportunity to spare his legs until it’s too late.

Wataru Endo has been reduced to meme status this season - totalling a paltry 137 minutes in the Premier League (zero starts) - and could have been used a lot more throughout the campaign.

Surely he could have managed against the likes of Leicester and Southampton?

But Slot wasn’t convinced from the off - sanctioning a transfer to Marseille which ultimately fell through - and the Japan captain has been feeding off scraps since then.

That despite the fact he’s never let Slot down in his outings at defensive midfield, centre-back and even right-back.

Jarell Quansah

The homegrown defender commenced the season in possession of the centre-back starting berth alongside Virgil van Dijk but lost it at half-time of the first game.

Since then he’s only played when Slot has been absolutely forced into it. He’s made one measly start in the league since opening day - against Newcastle away when the manager had literally nowhere else to turn.

But the 22-year-old has tried his best to rebuild his confidence - and his reputation - over the last few games and fared pretty well.

He was a breath of fresh air against PSG and dealt well with the threat on Sunday.

It’s clear that Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been overburdened this season. Both have been hit with multiple injuries this term.

But rather than take the opportunity to rest them before they break down, Slot has made Quansah sit on the bench or else come on for vanishingly small amounts of playing time.

Federico Chiesa

This is maybe the most glaring of all. Slot resorted to desperate measures on Sunday, chucking on Chiesa to chase a lost cause. And the Italian deserves an immense amount of credit for almost rescuing it with his goal.

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But fans were left with more questions than answers after the game. If he can run and finish like this, why the hell hasn’t he been playing more regularly?

One for Slot to answer.

It clearly took Chiesa an excessive timeframe to get up to speed and he didn’t do himself any favours against Plymouth.

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But he’s got two goals and two assists off less than 400 minutes worth of playing time this term. He got off the bench NEITHER time against PSG and could have been useful in turning matches around in the league against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest too.

With Salah now increasingly out of form, it’s surely time to consider Chiesa as the relief-pitcher he was meant to be.

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