Liverpool take on AC Milan on Tuesday night and Arne Slot will have to rotate his team after a defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Many of the Reds’ stars have featured heavily while on international duty earlier this month.
Some were playing their third game in a week against Forest on Saturday and they looked understandably sluggish.
With another game coming just 72 hours later changes have to be inevitable for Liverpool if they are to field a fresh side at the San Siro.
Here are three players Slot should leave out and three who should come in vs. AC Milan.
Out – Dominik Szoboszlai
The Hungarian is one of those who is likely to drop out from the starting XI.
He played the full 90 minutes not just against Forest but against Germany and Bosnia & Herzegovina in the space of eight days.
Towards the end of the Forest game fatigue definitely played a factor in his performance levels, which visibly dropped.
He needs a rest and some rejuvenation after what will have been a frustrating set of results facing a 5-0 defeat and disappointing 0-0 draw with his national team and then tasting Liverpool’s first defeat of the season.
In – Curtis Jones
One the other hand, Jones was not involved at all during the international break. He returned back to full fitness and has been training with Slot’s first-team squad throughout.
He came into a difficult situation against Forest in a game which will at least have helped him to regain some match sharpness.
Throwing him in at the deep end against AC Milan at the San Siro would make sense.
He’s a reasonable alternative to Szoboszlai and he’s got what it takes to excel in that attacking midfield role.
We saw him do well in pre-season and Tuesday night could be his chance to make a statement in a competitive game under the new head coach.
Out – Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool right-back is another who played three full 90 minutes of football within the space of eight days.
Against Forest, Slot pushed him into the midfield in the second half of the game and Alexander-Arnold visibly exerted himself on the pitch, desperately trying to salvage at least a point for the Reds.
He created the most chances (four) for Liverpool in the game as per FotMob.
Now he needs some rest to recover from what will have been a physically demanding week.
In – Conor Bradley
Waiting on the wings behind Alexander-Arnold is a more-than-capable alternative in the form of Bradley.
Last season, he proved under Jurgen Klopp that he could be an astute option for the Reds and someone who is capable of playing at the highest level of the game.
Slot has clearly recognised Bradley’s talents as well with the Northern Irishman having featured off the bench in all of the Reds’ games so far this season.
Now it’s time for him to make his first start under the Dutchman at the San Siro – which is where Bradley made his only previous Champions League appearance to date for the club, back in 2021!
Out – Ryan Gravenberch
For the same reason as Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai, Gravenberch too needs a rest after he started three games for club and country in eight days.
Despite being in great form, the Dutchman cannot be the only player who Slot deploys in the No. 6 role for the rest of the season.
Gravenberch in particular is not used to playing this many games, having been a rotation option under Klopp last season and at Bayern Munich before that.
Against AC Milan, the Reds’ head coach needs to give his 22-year-old midfielder a rest to allow him to recover properly.
In – Wataru Endo
It’s no secret the 31-year-old midfielder is not favoured by Slot at the moment.
However, Endo already proved many doubters wrong last season in the way he was able to adjust to Klopp’s style of play.
The Japan captain is a determined character and someone who will work hard in order to meet the requirements of his new environment.
Undoubtedly, he will be looking for an opportunity to come back into Slot’s reckoning and he should get his chance against the Rossoneri.
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