There is a sense that Liverpool’s pecking order has changed at left-back, but Arne Slot has left doubt over which of Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas will start.
With Robertson struggling for form and fitness in recent weeks, Tsimikas appears to have overtaken him as Slot’s first-choice left-back.
That came with the Scot starting against Brighton in the Carabao Cup last week before conceding his place in the side in the Premier League and Champions League after that.
Tsimikas impressed against both Brighton in the league and Bayer Leverkusen in Europe, leading fans to believe that he will keep his place against Aston Villa on Saturday night.
Asked about the situation around his left-backs, Slot explained his approach to rotation and why full-back is one of the positions he often changes – with no direct answer on whether he has a first choice.
“I think my lineups tell you what I think about this. I think we have two very good left-backs and we play many, many, many games,” he said.
“Then I think both of them need their games, because it’s also a position where a lot of effort is being asked.
“If you look at the players who have played most games, it’s mostly our centre-backs and they don’t really run the most if you compare that to full-backs or the midfielders or the wingers.
“So there are multiple reasons why our full-backs or our midfielders are sometimes rotated, but definitely it also has to do with the quality of the players and the difference in, at least in my opinion, the quality of these players.
“For me, I have two very good left full-backs. Andy has started a lot, Kostas has started a few times, let’s see who starts Saturday.”
While Robertson has featured more often, it is interesting to note that Tsimikas is not too far behind in terms of minutes played, with the former clocking 865 and the latter 574.
Whether the Greek continues to close on his fellow left-back remains to be seen – with Unai Emery now left guessing who will start against Villa.
