'Liverpool look like a Championship side!' - Jamie O'Hara slams Jurgen Klopp's Reds after Nottingham Forest defeat

Liverpool currently resemble a Championship side, according to former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara.

The Reds suffered another damaging defeat at the weekend, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.

Former Liverpool youth player Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the game to inflict a third league defeat of the season on the Merseyside club.

Liverpool have now won just four of their first 11 games in the Premier League this term and find themselves down in eighth.

They are already 12 points behind league leaders Arsenal and five adrift of the Champions League places.

And to make matters worse for Klopp, he is without a number of key players - with Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Thiago, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate all missing the defeat to Forest through injury or illness.

Liverpool were forced to field an unfamiliar line-up in the match and O'Hara believes Klopp's starting XI would not look out of place in the Championship.

"They were nowhere near good enough," O'Hara said on talkSPORT.

"They played 4-4-2! Their midfield was [Fabio] Carvalho on the left, Curtis Jones and Fabinho playing centre mid, and Harvey Elliott on the right. They had [Mohamed] Salah and Firmino up front.

"I'm looking at it thinking 'what is going on here?'.

"James Milner right back, Joe Gomez centre-half – alright he's played well recently but he had a shocker. I'm thinking 'this can't be Liverpool's best XI?'

"Now I know they've picked up injuries, I know that. But this was a team, a squad, that was competing with Manchester City for three or four seasons.

"Now I'm thinking 'alright your team has picked up a few injuries and you look like a Championship side'."

O'Hara's comments have attracted criticism from Liverpool fans, quick to point out their side's huge injury list.

"Few injuries Lmaooo. Is this the best Talk Sport have?," posted one fan on Twitter.

❌ “No where near good enough!”

🤨 “I was looking at it and thinking: ‘This can’t be Liverpool’s best squad?!’”

🔥 “Liverpool pick up a few injuries and now their team looks like a Championship side!”@MrJamieOHara1 compares #LFC’s line up vs #NFFC to a Championship team… pic.twitter.com/OBVFLq7GW5

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 24, 2022

Another wrote: "Yes, we need to look at the medical personnel at Liverpool as to why it's always us with awful injury numbers but it is definitely not "a few." No side would be able to compete."

While a third joked: "Championship side inc Alisson, Van Dijk, Gomez, Salah, Firmino? You'd have to fancy a tilt at the playoffs."

Klopp will hope to a number of his players, including the likes of Thiago and Nunez, back in time to face Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Liverpool then return to Premier League action against Leeds United at Anfield on Saturday.