Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Saturday’s clash with Manchester City will represent the ‘acid test’ for Alexis Mac Allister at the base of Jurgen Klopp’s new-look midfield.
World Cup winner Mac Allister was signed as part of an extensive midfield rebuild at Anfield in the most recent transfer window, with long-serving trio Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner all departing.
With Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch signed to play in more advanced midfield roles, Mac Allister has spent most of 2023-24 in a deeper position, helping Liverpool make a strong start to the campaign.
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The Reds enter Saturday’s huge clash at the Etihad Stadium just one point behind City at the summit, but Carragher thinks Mac Allister will face a huge test of his defensive abilities against the champions.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Essential Football podcast on Friday, Carragher said: “He’s a completely different type of player to Fabinho in that role.
“On the ball, he’s going to try and get Liverpool moving, receiving the ball with his back to play and flicking around the corner. He’s part of the build-up and that’s certainly a strength of his.
“But he’ll certainly be asked questions tomorrow that he hasn’t been asked before in a Liverpool shirt.
“With the quality of Manchester City and the players they have and how quickly they can counter-attack, this is going to be the acid test for him in that role.”
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Liverpool saw big-money moves for Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo fail after signing Mac Allister, and though the Argentine looks set to retain his role for the rest of this campaign, Carragher believes they will again look to add a specialist holding midfielder next year.
“I do think Liverpool are still looking for a holding midfield player,” he said. “They put a bid in for Caicedo, so that tells you, I think, that they’re still looking for somebody in that role.
“But on the back of pulling out of that transfer, they went and bought Gravenberch, who’s a number eight.
“So maybe they then thought, ‘well, okay, we’ll play Mac Allister as the lone six for the rest of the season’, and Liverpool have done really well, but at times you will get caught out defensively.”
