3 Liverpool Players Who Are Fighting for Their Futures in 2015/16

At a time of great tumult in Merseyside, a host of Liverpool players are fighting for their future.

With Brendan Rodgers' side underperforming in the Premier League and falling behind their top-four rivals by the game, this could be a make-or-break season for many of the Reds' expensive stars.

But who is at the greatest risk of losing their place in Rodgers' squad in 2015/16?

Here are three players who must perform this season if they are to remain on the books at Anfield, including one star out to prove himself on loan.

Dejan Lovren

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The season started so well for Dejan Lovren.

Restored as Rodgers' first-choice left-side centre-back, the Croatian helped contribute to three clean sheets in Liverpool's opening three games of the season, with a resolute display in the 1-0 win over Stoke City pointing encouragingly toward a return to the form that earned him a £20 million move from Southampton in 2014.

But as the Reds have slipped back into the shambolic defensive efforts of last season against both West Ham United and Manchester United, the shaky, inconsistent Lovren of 2014/15 returned, too.

Against West Ham in particular Lovren was in abysmal form, with a host of errors in possession helping Slaven Bilic's side to a 3-0 victory.

After the game, Bilic said, per Pete Oliver of the Independent: "When he’s concentrated and thinking only about his own game, not about the left-back or whoever is alongside him, there are very few centre-halves who are better than him."

But this is a defender who Rodgers lauded on his arrival as having "great leadership qualities," according to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo.

This season will define Lovren's time on Merseyside.

With the imperious Mamadou Sakho looming from the Liverpool substitutes' bench, the 26-year-old must prove he can be the leader Rodgers believes him to be this season, or he could face demotion from the Reds' starting lineup.

Alberto Moreno

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"He has got huge potential," Rodgers told Liverpool's official website on the £12 million signing of Alberto Moreno from Sevilla.

"We needed a left-sided player. We monitored him for a while and when we felt we got the value and the worth, we were able to clinch the deal."

Moreno's move to Merseyside last summer represented fine business by the Reds' transfer committee, with the 23-year-old one of Europe's best young left-backs. But after a slow start to his career at Liverpool, it seems that the Spain international is now unfavoured by Rodgers.

Lacking the defensive qualities required to operate alongside the self-serving Lovren, Moreno's spot has been usurped by 18-year-old summer signing Joe Gomez so far in 2015/16.

Having to make do with four substitution appearances, largely in a left-sided attacking role, Moreno has been given little time to impress and regain his place in Rodgers' starting lineup.

But after Liverpool's defensive line stuttered against West Ham and United, with the out-of-position Gomez exploited by the Hammers at Anfield and giving away a penalty at Old Trafford, Moreno may be given an opportunity in the coming weeks.

Moreno must prove he has the steel to function as a left-back in this Liverpool system.

If he is unable to do so, he may follow his compatriot Javier Manquillo—another full-back signed in 2014, on loan from Atletico Madrid—through the Anfield exit next summer.

Lazar Markovic

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Rodgers' decision to allow Serbian winger Lazar Markovic to join Fenerbahce on loan this summer seems a considerable oversight, given Liverpool's current lack of depth on the attacking flanks.

"You think about how many strikers Liverpool have on the books and they have no wide players. They've only got Jordon Ibe," Jamie Carragher lamented during his analysis of the Reds' loss to United on Sky Sports.

"[Roberto] Firmino is not a wide player and [Philippe] Coutinho played there last week and he's not a wide player. I don't understand this obsession with playing 4-3-3."

Markovic, signed from Benfica last summer in a deal worth up to £20 million, offered Liverpool a pacy, direct option in attack as a potentially world-class young talent. But he was rarely utilised in Rodgers' forward line in 2014/15, with a regular berth at wing-back in a 3-4-2-1 masking his quality.

"Markovic still has a future here," Rodgers said shortly before the 21-year-old's switch to Istanbul, as reported by Jack Davies of Goal.com.

Whether these are hollow words remains unclear, but Markovic's misuse last season and his swift ostracism this summer suggest that he needs a strong season in the Super Lig in order to ensure he has a future at Liverpool.

Statistics via WhoScored.com.

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