It is one down and one to go in the 65-hour battle against Brighton, and Arne Slot‘s selection choices in the League Cup clash gave us a strong indication of what we will see at Anfield.
The Reds progressed in the League Cup at the expense of Brighton on Wednesday evening, and merely 65 hours after the final whistle the first one will blow at Anfield in the league clash.
Slot made eight changes for the cup tie and it offered us, and no doubt the Seagulls, a good idea of how he will set up his team with three points on the line.
So, here is how Liverpool could line up at Anfield on Saturday.
Team News
There was a brief and to-the-point squad update from Slot ahead of the weekend’s game:
Liverpool’s XI vs. Brighton
With no new injury concerns, the usual suspects will return to Liverpool’s starting lineup, and that will include those who did not play a part in Wednesday’s win.
Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch were all rested and will slot straight back into the XI, as will Ibrahima Konate.
Kostas Tsimikas is to replace Andy Robertson after the Scot started the last two matches, with the Liverpool boss acknowledging the veteran is not ready to play three in a row.
As Alexis Mac Allister, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez all came off the bench to keep their rhythm going, it is guaranteed they will return to leave the left wing as the only conundrum.
Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo both scored in midweek, but it was perhaps telling that the Dutchman was subbed off with 19 minutes remaining while the No. 7 played the full 90:
- Tsimikas starts in defence alongside Van Dijk, Konate and Trent
- Szoboszlai retained to reunite first-choice midfield
- Gakpo starts ahead of Diaz on the left wing
This is the same XI that won at Leipzig and it looks like this:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
After playing several of his fringe players at the Amex, the lineup selection appears quite straightforward for this one.
Diaz will hope he gets the nod for the third successive game, but that he remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes on Wednesday is quite telling, and he will be a good option off the bench.
Curtis Jones has not done a lot to lose his place, but two successive starts is likely to be his limit, as Liverpool look to ensure their squad is not unnecessarily overworked.
It is an XI more than capable of securing another victory. Into these, Reds.
