Brendan Rodgers should use back four formation vs Forest

The replacement for the departing Fofana, direct or not, is another Ligue 1 acquisition in Wout Faes. The former Reims man was part of a strong first hour’s performance against Spurs on his debut before the international break.

Despite his many merits, pace is not his forte, and the same applies to Evans. This, married with the mobility issues the skipper has faced, a back three with those two means that at least one full-backs risks being badly exposed from their adjacent centre-half in transition.

One man whose qualities might be exemplified in a three-back system is Daniel Amartey, who is calm on the ball and likes to be progressive in his actions. But that’s just one component in a triple-axis system, and a scenario is no good if only one third of its makeup is confident and operating comfortably.

Of course there’s the argument, valid though it could be, that the solution to the club’s defensive problems is to add a centre-half to provide an extra bit of cover and security. However, this risks jeopardising the team’s attacking output by sacrificing the creativity of Harvey Barnes or James Maddison further up the pitch.