Liverpool will start their Premier League campaign at the Portman Road Stadium against the newly promoted side Ipswich Town on Saturday. The new season will also usher in a new era under head coach Arne Slot after he succeeded legendary Jurgen Klopp.

Slot has already provided a glimpse of his tactical approach and style to the fans during the summer pre-season tour. Despite the transfer chaos, Liverpool fans have maintained a positive outlook due to what they saw during the pre-season friendlies.

Slot’s style is vastly different from Klopp’s with more efficiency and balance in attack than relentless aggression and direct play. It is no disrespect to our former beloved manager’s tactical genius when we are praising the Slot’s style of play.

The Dutchman carries a philosophy that is similar to Klopp’s which only advances the culture that Klopp installed at the club. The players have enjoyed the process of adapting to the new style that demands more possessional play while maintaining attack.

Furthermore, Slot prefers to use his players in a fixed position rather than deploying them in several positions. While players frequently use the same fluidity within the game, they keep their positions fixed.

This approach ensures players know that their position balances their preferences with what is best for them. Vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the players who has switched between two positions in the past few seasons.

The 25-year-old played mostly as an inverted right-back last season but also featured often as a quarterback in important phases. Liverpool relied on Trent to dictate and create the play in games where they chased the game after conceding.

Slot addressed the potential of playing Trent in different positions during his pre-match press conference (via Liverpool FC’s official site). He said:

“I think a position for a player is always related to the team and it’s also my aim to bring the best out of the player. But the first aim is to bring the best out of the team and it helps if you also bring the best out of a player then. Trent is known for playing as a right full-back for all his life, I think, and when he was a youngster he played in midfield. In the modern game, you see a lot of full-backs going into the midfield – that is what he did last season once in a while and I saw him playing in the Euros [in] the midfield. So, I think he is capable of playing both positions really good and then it’s up to me where I think he could help the team the most.”

Liverpool have Conor Bradley as a strong competitor for the right-back position which provides Slot with a positive selection headache. The season has more fixtures due to the change in Champions League format allowing more rotation policy to maintain consistency.

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There is a big potential for Slot to use both Bradley and Trent in the same games, allowing the 25-year-old to play in midfield. Rest assured, Trent has an important season ahead and hopefully, a contract extension on the horizon to secure his future.