Xabi Alonso is widely being tipped as the next manager of Liverpool to fill in the massive shoes of Jurgen Klopp. The current Liverpool manager has sent shockwaves by announcing his decision to step down as the Reds boss at the end of the season.

Replacing the German will be a madsive task for any manager and we have seen a host of names being touted as possible successors. However, Xabi Alonso is the frontrunner for the job because of a number of reasons.

Alonso has taken European football by storm in his earlier days as the manager of Bayer Leverkusen. His side are the only team unbeaten across top five leagues in Europe and he could be the first manager to stop Bayern Munich from winning the Bundesliga since Jurgen Klopp.

Leverkusen have played beautiful, entertaining and attacking football under Alonso. The Spaniard has shown signs that he is a top manager in the making and it will be quite interesting to see how he fares at his former club Liverpool if he takes charge at Anfield.

Here, we will take a look at how Alonso could line up if he takes charge at Liverpool. While Alonso has mostly played a 3-4-2-1 formation at Leverkusen, that is mostly because of the squad he has at his disposal where he has excellent strength in depth at centre-back and not much options out wide. Alonso has therefore used his wing-backs to provide the width who have been integral to his system. However, he will most certainly play a four at the back system if he joins Liverpool.

A 4-3-3 system just like Klopp seems likely although Alonso’s tactics are not exactly similar to Klopp’s. Alonso’s team also presses intensely very high on the pitch and launch quick attacks after winning the ball back. However, Alonso likes to use the middle of the pitch more often by playing many short passes by creating numerical superiority. Here, we will take a look at how Alonso’s best XI could look at Liverpool.

Goalkeeper

Alisson Becker is among the best keepers in the world and will definitely retain his place regardless of which ever manager is apponted.

Back four

Liverpool’s best back four could see a major tweak at the right-back spot. Alonso will surely be intrigued to use Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield because of his ability to create and also to make Liverpool more solid defensively. With Conor Bradley’s emergence, the Reds could have finally gotten the player who could unlock Alexander-Arnold. The best centre-back pairing is likely to remain Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk with Andrew Robertson certainly keeping his place at left-back.

Midfield

Trent Alexander-Arnold could be playing the number six role under Alonso where he will feature as a deep-lying playmaker. Alexis Mac Allister is likely to feature alongside the Liverpool number sixty-six providing further creativity and flair to the midfield. Dominik Szoboszlai has impresses with his all-action midfield display in his debut season at Anfield and will be the final player in the three-man midfield.

Front three

Liverpool have plenty of quality up front and Jurgen Klopp rotates them regularly. The same is likely to happen with Alonso taking over. Mohamed Salah will obviously remain the star man in attack and will feature on the right flank. Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo will all regularly rotate in the other two positions.