Federico Chiesa will play his first minutes since September when Liverpool head to Southampton in the League Cup, with Arne Slot detailing his selection plan.
Chiesa was back on the bench for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Fulham but, due to the circumstances at Anfield, he was not considered to feature.
But with a trip to St Mary’s to come on Wednesday night – against a Southampton side without a manager after Russell Martin was sacked – the summer signing is set to be involved.
While Slot stopped short of confirming Chiesa would start, given the many months he has spent out, the head coach acknowledged it as an ideal opportunity for him to “make minutes.”
“It’s definitely a moment where he can get minutes. The amount of minutes is a question mark,” he told reporters at the AXA Training Centre.
“You cannot expect for him to play 90, I think, especially not at this level where the intensity is so high, because he’s been out for five, six months now.
“But he will, if he has a good training session, make minutes.
“It’s going to be a game where not all our starters will start, so we have to manage minutes if we want to use a few starters not for 90 minutes.
“So we have to balance. I can only make five substitutions, the ones that make minutes and go off maybe at half-time can’t be more than five.
“He will make minutes, Federico, tomorrow; if he starts or comes in or plays the second half, that’s something we have to make a decision about today.”
With Diogo Jota also unable to start after not being “completely fit” after his comeback goal against Fulham, the likelihood is that Slot will turn to his regular attackers from kickoff at St Mary’s.
While Jayden Danns could be in contention, a forward line of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez could perhaps be expected before Chiesa and later Jota come off the bench.
There will be a number of changes elsewhere though, with Slot having already confirmed Caoimhin Kelleher and Wataru Endo are in line to start.
Youngsters Amara Nallo, 18, and James Norris, 21, are also being considered to start in defence, while Slot also hinting that “players that nobody would expect to see” could move into his back line as key names are rested.
