Liverpool have recently appointed Feyenoord manager Arne Slot to take charge following the departure of Jurgen Klopp.
The Dutch manager had a 64% win record with Feyenoord, winning 95 out of the 147 games he managed for the club.
This is promising for the Reds as they look to the upcoming Champions League next season, but how does Slot's tactics fit into a Liverpool system?
Slot typically favors a 4-2-3-1 structure on offense, and a 4-4-2 on defense. The attacking 4-2-3-1 allows for passing-based build up play through the two central midfielders up to the attacking mids and strikers.
However, this creates space out wide for the opposition to strike on the counterattack. This is where the defensive 4-4-2 comes into play.
Fullbacks drop to allow the wide midfielders to cover the wings and eliminate the ability to counter. When possession is regained, there are two strikers up top to build up to, before the formation resets.
The key to Slot's system is the double pivot. The double pivot is a pairing of central or defensive midfielders that roam in between the defenders and forwards. In this scenario, it would likely be Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo as of now.
The goal of these players is to link the play together through the midfield, often looking wide for wingers or wandering strikers. These players must be comfortable under pressure, as the midfield is often the most congested space in a game.
In defense, Slot favors a high and organized press, as so many Premier League teams have begun embracing in recent years.
This style of pressing works extremely well as it puts the opposition under immense pressure. However, this level of pressing often results in players becoming tired too early, which opens up the potential for oppositions to strike late in the second half of the game.
This could be an interesting style for an aging Virgil van Dijk to adapt to. However, given his football IQ, we're sure he can find a way to make it work.
As far as the relation to our current Liverpool team, Slot's tactics would actually fit surprisingly well into our current roster.
Darwin Nunez is already a forward who has no issue pressing the opposition at any chance, and a midfield pairing of Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo could be the perfect pivots we need to make his system function.
Not a lot would need to be changed regarding our defense, although wingers may be asked to hold more shape than they're used to under Klopp.