"Fearless" Ajax could hurt Liverpool as BBC pundit makes worrying prediction for tonight's Champions League tie

Liverpool are up against it tonight as they seek to break the cycle of lacklustre, tired performances that have plagued them this season.

The Reds have conceded first in five of their seven games in all competitions this season - perhaps one of the most alarming stats that came out of the Napoli disaster.

As Jack Sear wrote for This is Anfield, Liverpool got Liverpool'd by Luciano Spalletti's side.

They were more energetic, had more desire and constantly looked to push the envelope.

Klopp's side seems to have lost its direction and many of the issues stem from midfield and the injury crisis that has plagued the club in the early stages of this campaign.

But that said, several players in various positions have been guilty of not putting in enough effort and this was exposed at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Ajax travel to Anfield tonight and if Liverpool aren't careful they could go into the final four games of the group stages without a single point.

It's already a must-win game and dropping points at home would be criminal but it's not unrealistic.

Chris Sutton told the Daily Mail he is worried about what "fearless" Ajax could do to his struggling Liverpool.

He said: “I kept thinking because of what Liverpool have achieved in previous seasons that it was only a blip they were in.

“But with the way Napoli won 4-1 and made Liverpool’s defence look like tourists on an Italian holiday, it has become more than that. Something’s amiss there.

“Liverpool’s players lapped up the praise when they were on song. Now we need to see how they respond when they’re hitting bum notes. Ajax will have a go.

“They’re fearless and beat Rangers 4-0 last week. There’s no time to waste for Liverpool to get their season back on track, but I fear Ajax will take something away from Anfield.”

I wrote yesterday that I don't think Harvey Elliott should play after his defensive lapse against Napoli but to be fair to him, if Klopp dropped every player who played badly in that game, he'd be playing Academy lads tonight.

The team news will be interesting.