Arne Slot had the chance to rotate members of his first team in midweek and he will now be expected to call on them again for the visit of Ipswich.
Liverpool guaranteed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday but their focus has to quickly switch to an Ipswich side that currently sit in the relegation zone.
Only two teams have scored fewer goals this season than the Tractor Boys (20) and only three have conceded more (43), but they have shown enough to pose a threat on their day.
Slot will be well aware Kieran McKenna’s side are no pushovers, though, and the Reds cannot afford to take anyone for granted as they aim to continue their charge at the top of the table.
With a host of players to return, here’s a look at who Slot could name in his XI on Saturday.
Team News
Liverpool will not welcome anyone back from the injury list, but Curtis Jones has been added to it after being forced off in midweek:
- Jones ruled out vs. Ipswich, doubt for following two games
- Diogo Jota (muscle) and Joe Gomez (hamstring) remain sidelined
- Ibrahima Konate still being managed but “it’s safe for him to play”
Liverpool’s XI vs. Ipswich
None of Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson or Cody Gakpo played a part in the midweek win over Lille, making their presence at Anfield feel like an almost certainty.
Robertson has not been the consistent figure we know him to be and Slot suggested there is no longer a No. 1 left-back, but after just 25 minutes over the last two games he ought to inject fresh legs.
With Jones out injured, meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister will be expected to start after each having their minutes managed last time out.
The last remaining question would then be if it is Luis Diaz in the No. 9 role or Darwin Nunez, though we have seen the former preferred by Slot:
- Alexander-Arnold, Konate and Robertson return to back four
- Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister all start
- Gakpo returns to left wing to join Salah and Diaz
That would make for five changes from midweek, and look like this:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
With only two positions feeling as though they are up for debate, we could instead see Slot turn to Tsimikas for the third game in a row for the first time this season.
On the eve of the clash, he said: “If Kostas was on a completely different level than Robbo, then it would not be smart to rotate in that position or manage the load, because then you drop so far in quality that it could be a risk.”
It is evidently not a risk and Tsimikas could be retained at left-back before being rested at PSV.
Nunez is another who could find himself with a rare back-to-back starting berth, his last was in early December, and tasked with finding holes in Ipswich‘s defensive line:
- Tsimikas retains place at left-back ahead of Robertson
- Nunez leads the attack after three successive starts for Diaz
Those tweaks look like this:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
Liverpool have dropped points three times at Anfield this season against sides they would not have expected to, and there cannot be a repeat on Saturday.
There is more than enough firepower to get the job done, but it may require early patience to unpick what is typically a stubborn Ipswich outfit.
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