Plymouthvs.Liverpool

The Portugal international has either scored or assisted in all three of his away games in the competition so far - excluding semi-finals and finals at Wembley - and he is one of several players in line for promotion to the first XI.

Jota could spearhead a new-look attacking quartet from Thursday's 4-0 EFL Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, as Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz also prepare for recalls to the XI.

Tyler Morton would have certainly been a candidate to start in midfield, but Arne Slot revealed at his pre-game press conference that the England Under-21 international will be out for weeks with a shoulder problem.

As a result, Alexis Mac Allister - dropped to the bench against Spurs - could link arms with Wataru Endo in the double pivot, and Slot is also facing a dilemma or two in the backline.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of Sunday's game with a hamstring injury and is not guaranteed to be back for Wednesday's Merseyside derby either, meaning that Conor Bradley faces the prospect of three starts in the space of a week.

Instead, either Joe Gomez or Jarell Quansah could operate at right-back - the other has a good chance of starting in the centre too - while Kostas Tsimikas is expected to come in for Andy Robertson on the other side.

Slot confirmed that Alisson Becker's absence from the win over Tottenham was purely to give him a rest, but regardless, Caoimhin Kelleher will act as the last line of defence at Home Park.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Mac Allister; Chiesa, Elliott, Diaz; Jota

Written by

Ben Knapton