Arne Slot has confirmed that Liverpool youngsters Amara Nallo and James Norris are both in line to start against Southampton.
The Reds trade Premier League action for Carabao Cup commitments on Wednesday night, heading to St Mary’s for a quarter-final clash.
While far from Liverpool’s primary focus this season, they are still the holders of the trophy and will want to reach a record 20th semi-final in the competition.
Slot will be making changes after a hectic schedule in the league and Champions League, however, giving fringe players a chance to shine.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Slot explained that Nallo and Norris are in contention to start in defence against Saints, given the lack of current options there.
“It’s very positive,” said Slot, when asked about the general quality of the young players at Liverpool.
“You talk about these two (Nallo and Norris) now, but there’s a few others who have made a good impact in training sessions.
“I’m aware we’ve only got four defenders available, and probably the ones who have started a lot of times will not play 90 minutes, or maybe not even at all.
“So it’s going to be either academy players who get playing time or players nobody would expect to see in the last line that are going to play in the last line tomorrow.”
It makes complete sense for Slot to give the likes of Nallo and Norris a go, even though their lack of experience isn’t ideal.
The former is yet to make his Liverpool debut, so throwing him into a much-changed side will be a tough situation for him.
Nallo has shone in the academy, however, and is a centre-back with plenty of potential, with under-21s manager Barry Lewtas recently praising the “huge progress” he has made.
As for Norris, a start at left-back looks on the cards, with Andy Robertson suspended after his red card against Fulham and Kostas Tsimikas still not 100 per cent fit.
Slot hasn’t yet blooded youth in the same way Jurgen Klopp did – there hasn’t always been the opportunity to, in fairness – but Wednesday represents the perfect opportunity to change that.
Trey Nyoni could come into the midfield, having already played against Brighton in the Carabao Cup this season, and striker Jayden Danns is also pushing to feature, among others.
Progressing to the semi-finals is important, but whatever happens, resting senior figures ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tottenham in the league takes precedence.
