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Arne Slot has been accused of "looking for trouble" by naming a weakened Liverpool team ahead of their Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace . The Reds boss chose a youthful line-up for the fourth-round clash on Wednesday evening after his side lost their last four Premier League matches. Milos Kerkez was the only player who kept his place after Saturday's defeat at Brentford , with three teenagers starting for the hosts at Anfield. Two first-half goals from Ismaila Sarr and a late effort from Yeremy Pino saw Palace dump last season's finalists out of the competition . Former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders has now criticised Slot 's team selection after suggesting he has too many players to choose from and doesn't know his best starting XI. It follows the Reds making 10 new signings at a cost of around £449million during a record-breaking summer transfer window. The ex- Wolves and Wrexham manager also suggested the Dutchman should have followed the lead of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta by having senior players on the bench ready to come on and ensure Liverpool's progression. The Gunners sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the cup with a 2-0 victory over Brighton thanks to goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka , the latter after his introduction as a sub. Speaking on talkSPORT , Saunders said: "He is asking for trouble picking a team like that. Straight away, as soon as I saw the team, two thoughts came into my head. You're either trying to get out of the cup or looking forward to the next five games, thinking that's what matters. "But when you pick a team like that as a manager, it sends a message. The bench tells me everything. You look at what Arteta has done, he had the bench stocked up just in case it's going wrong. "Normally, the best players are sitting there and if it starts going wrong, you can put it right. Palace are a good team and he's basically playing the under-23 team against Crystal Palace. Why he didn't have some ammunition on the bench, I don't know. "The argument from the fans will be, 'Hang on a minute. You spent half a billion quid on your squad and you've got a squad where you can't get everybody on the pitch.' They're queuing up on the bench. Wasn't it a chance to give some of them a game?" He added: "Football management is just finding a formula to get results, and sometimes you stumble upon it, and sometimes you make it happen. At the moment, he's struggling to find the formula because he's got too many ingredients. He's signed too many players." Liverpool's latest defeat means they have lost five straight games in domestic competitions for the first time since 1953. Their recent form under Slot has become a concern, despite the manager lifting the Premier League title in his first season in charge. Recent results have seen the Reds fall from the top of the league to seventh, whilst their hopes of winning the Carabao Cup have now been dashed by the Eagles - who have beaten them three times in as many months. Liverpool will next face Aston Villa in the league on Saturday as they look to arrest their alarming slump. That fixture is followed by two tough tests, with Real Madrid set to visit Anfield in the Champions League on November 4, while Slot's side are due to travel to Manchester City in the league on November 9. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
