The defensive woes of Liverpool stem from a lack of stability and authority in the back four that makes them susceptible to conceding goals from set pieces.
That's the view of former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, who made 246 appearances for the club over seven seasons.
The Reds fell to a 2-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup at Leicester City on Tuesday night to extend their winless run to four games in all competitions.
"You can't build up relationships with players alongside you when you change the players all the time," Murphy told The Straits Times in Singapore where he was promoting a masters' football tournament.
"The goalkeeper's changing, centre-halves are changing, [Nathaniel] Clyne's been injured so all those things mean it's difficult to get an understanding and stability."
By allowing Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani to breach their defence in the second half at the King Power Stadium, Liverpool have now leaked 10 goals in their last four games.
Last season, they made the top four for the first time since 2013-14, despite conceding 42 goals, including 12 from set pieces. Due to injuries and suspensions, first-choice centre-backs Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren played together in only 19 of 47 games in all competitions.
Murphy, who was part of Liverpool's 2001 treble-winning side under Gerard Houllier, is also less than convinced by Jurgen Klopp's zonal-marking system.
"The goalkeeper needs to organise those around him, you need somebody in the back four commanding, leading the others -- and that's been a problem," he said.
Liverpool will return to King Power Stadium on Sunday to face Leicester City in the Premier League.
