Liverpool are back at Anfield for the second time in four days this weekend and Jurgen Klopp will once again get the chance to move things around in his squad.
Nottingham Forest are the visitors on Sunday and the Reds will be hoping for an easier afternoon’s work than the eventful 3-2 victory that came when the sides last met in April.
With another quick turnaround after Thursday’s 5-1 victory over Toulouse, the manager will need to use his squad depth and make further changes to the rotated side that got the job done in Europe.
Here is a look at how Liverpool could line up against Steve Cooper’s side.
Team news
This is what the boss told us ahead of the contest:
- Ibrahima Konate “has to play” after being rested against Toulouse
- Cody Gakpo is “available” again having come off the bench in the week
- Those who didn’t feature had a “proper session” in training on Friday
Liverpool’s XI vs. Nottingham Forest
Klopp put out a side strong enough to comfortably get the better of Toulouse in midweek while simultaneously resting a number of his senior figures.
Trent Alexander-Arnold captained the side on Thursday and is perhaps the only guaranteed player to keep his place in Sunday’s encounter.
Quality performances from Ryan Gravenberch and Darwin Nunez will make it difficult for the manager to leave them out, but there are likely to be significant changes across the starting lineup.
With that in mind, we’re taking a look at how it might look against Forest:
- Konate to rejoin the back four after his midweek rest
- Gravenberch to keep his place in midfield for his second league start
- Nunez to lead the line alongside Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz
This is the likely XI:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Alternatively, Klopp has a number of different options available to him should he wish to stray from what we feel to be the most plausible team selection.
Andy Robertson‘s injury aside, the above team is perhaps the strongest Liverpool can currently put out, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t variations that wouldn’t be equally capable of picking up three points.
Gakpo returned to the side as a substitute against Toulouse and will be keen to regain a starting place after injuring himself away at Tottenham last month.
The left-back spot remains up for grabs, while Harvey Elliott‘s impressive season continues and he will be hopeful of his second league start.
This is how a slightly different team would shape up:
- Gakpo to take Nunez’s place at the top of the pitch
- Elliott to start in midfield having played out wide on Thursday
- Joe Gomez to fill in for Robertson instead of Tsimikas at left-back
This is how Liverpool would line up:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Mac Allister, Elliott, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
There are no shortage of options across the park despite the handful of injuries we are currently dealing with, and the selection headaches will increase when Curtis Jones returns from his domestic ban after this game.
The Europa League has given the manager a chance to utilise his fringe players and a number of those have seized the opportunity and made strong cases for league minutes.
Whichever way the boss chooses to go, Liverpool head into the game as big favourites and have the chance to lay down a marker for Man City ahead of the Manchester derby later in the day.
Another big game awaits, up the Reds!
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