As Liverpool travel to play Brighton, Arne Slot will be unable to rotate his team as much as he would have hoped for due to injury absentees not recovering in time.
Liverpool enter the fourth round of the League Cup in good form but with an eye on Saturday’s league fixture against Brighton, and the Reds’ starting lineup will probably reflect this.
We already know at least one change Slot will make as he rests some of his key figures who have amassed 22 points from nine Premier League matches this season.
Here’s how Liverpool could line up.
Team news
Here’s what Slot revealed in his press conference:
Liverpool’s XI vs. Brighton
Given Slot’s comments in his press conference, it is almost certain that Endo will play. One of the big questions that remain is, who will line up next to him in midfield?
It seems probable that Dominik Szobozlai will start after he came off the bench against Arsenal. That then leaves Slot with Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister to pick from.
Up front, the head coach faces a conundrum in that Darwin Nunez is Liverpool’s only recognised striker for now, with Jota ruled out until after the next international break.
Chiesa, who could have filled in up front, is also missing, so Slot may play Nunez again.
This is how Liverpool would line up:
Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Ideally, Bradley would play this game but judging from Slot’s press conference, in which the Dutchman said the 21-year-old “could maybe be in the squad,” he won’t be fit to start.
This could mean Trent Alexander-Arnold starts as Gomez and Quansah partner each other at centre-back, allowing Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate a rest.
In this scenario, Vitezslav Jaros also starts as Liverpool seek to ensure their backup goalkeeper stays sharp in the case of an injury to Kelleher.
- Cody Gakpo has to play up front in order to keep Nunez fresh for Saturday
- Tyler Morton is given his first start since January 2022 as Slot rests Mac Allister and Jones
- In the absence of Chiesa and Elliott, Mo Salah starts his 13th game of the season
Here’s how this alternate team would look:
Jaros; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endo, Morton, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
Brighton have their own injury problems, with the likes of Lewis Dunk, James Milner and Adam Webster out, but they will still pose a difficult test for Liverpool.
We know that the Reds can perform even as a rotated side, they will just have to ensure they keep things tight early on so they find themselves out of the tie before they can gel as a team.
