Liverpoolvs.Accrington

In their EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, Slot named a stronger team than had previously been seen in the competition, meaning the heavy rotation is set to come here.

It is also very likely that many youngsters will get minutes under their belt, with a difficult run in the EFL Cup preventing Slot from making too many changes.

Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni have both started games in that competition, and they could be joined in the starting XI this weekend by the likes of Jayden Danns and James McConnell, who were both substitutes in the win over Southampton.

To provide some experience and international quality to proceedings though, Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott could all start in attack, after being left on the bench again in midweek, and in desperate need for first-team minutes.

Alisson started just his second EFL Cup game for Liverpool in North London, suggesting that Caoimhin Kelleher was being kept back for this game instead, but it is unclear who the two centre-backs in front of him will be.

Virgil van Dijk will definitely be rested, while Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah are both currently injured, with the latter going off inside half-an-hour on Wednesday.

That leaves Ibrahima Konate as the only recognised centre-back, and he could be given minutes to build match fitness after only starting on the bench at Spurs, alongside Wataru Endo, who has often filled in at the back.

Dominik Szoboszlai missed another game through illness on Wednesday, and he is unlikely to be brought back for this one, while the likes of Mohamed Salah, Ryan Gravenberch and Trent Alexander-Arnold should also be rested.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Bradley, Endo, Konate, Morton; McConnell, Nyoni, Elliott; Chiesa, Danns, Nunez

Written by

Andrew Delaney