After dropping two of his usual starters against West Ham, Arne Slot must decide whether they merit a place in the Liverpool side against Leicester.
Liverpool are top of the form table, top of the league and us fans could be on top of the world come Sunday evening.
While it is unlikely that Arsenal will lose to Ipswich, a defeat at Portman Road would leave the Reds with a chance to claim the title this weekend.
Slot has insisted he isn’t thinking about the permutations, though, and is instead solely focusing on the job at hand, taking another three points.
Here’s how Liverpool could line up.
Team news
Here’s what Slot revealed in his press conference:
- Alexander-Arnold “might” make the bench but will “definitely not start”
- Playing 90 minutes “isn’t easy” for Conor Bradley, as he continues to build his fitness after injury
- Therefore, expect to see the right-back replaced in the second half again
Liverpool’s XI vs. Leicester
Having dropped Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai due to their poor showings at Fulham, Slot has a tricky decision to make on whether to bring them back after their absence from the start against West Ham.
Of the two replacements, Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones, the latter is most likely to keep his place, especially given the Reds seemed to get considerably worse last weekend when he went off.
However, with Szoboszlai’s running power arguably being more suited to away games, the Hungarian could still get the nod over a disappointed Jones.
Here are the coach’s likely selection options:
- Robertson comes in for Tsimikas at left-back
- Bradley starts at right-back while Alexander-Arnold makes the bench
- The midfield of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai start their fifth game together in Liverpool’s last six
This is how Liverpool would line up:
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz
One area Slot may look to change up is the attack.
Diogo Jota was far from poor against West Ham, but the striker has only one goal in his last 13 appearances which could prompt a rethink from the head coach.
Against West Ham, we saw Liverpool finish the match with Diaz up front and Cody Gakpo on the left, an option Slot turned to frequently earlier in the campaign.
It could be the case that the Dutchman returns to that formation as he seeks to keep his best three forwards on the field.
- Gakpo starts on the left for the first time since the Goodison Park derby
- Jones retains his starting spot following a good performance against West Ham
- Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk play together for the 101st time in their careers
Here’s how this alternate team would look:
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo
Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in their last six outings – that should be where the game plan grows from.
If the Reds can prevent a poor Leicester team from getting traction on the break, they should have no issue scoring across the 90 minutes.
Slot’s side should win whatever the number of changes he makes. However, with defeat meaning certain relegation for the hosts, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team could lift their game in front of their own supporters.
