Liverpool Have “So Many Good Players in This Team” Raves Arne Slot
With quality two deep at every competition on the pitch, Slot says West Ham on Wednesday could be an opportunity for a few new faces to shine.
With Liverpool kicking off their 2024-25 League Cup campaign with West Ham’s visit to Anfield on Wednesday evening, it will be a first chance for fans and pundits to see how new head coach Arne Slot approaches dealing with fixture congestion.
Having played five Premier League games along with one in the Champions League, there hasn’t been much of a chance—or need, really—to rotate much, and with a squad that runs two deep with quality at every position, Wednesday could be an opportunity for players who haven’t yet seen much action.
“I think every player is hungry to get playing time,” Slot noted at his pre-match press conference. “If you play every week you are hungry to stay in the team. There is so much competition in this team, we have so many good players.
“So who would not like to play at a club like this in a home game tomorrow as well? We are in a good place when it comes to the quality players we have, I can choose between a lot of players again for tomorrow, and the ones that haven’t played a lot here at Liverpool have played their games for their countries.
“But it’s important they keep getting playing time and it’s very, very difficult to arrange some friendlies for them because of our schedule so this might be a chance for the other players to get some playing time as well. But it’s not only about playing time, it’s also about if they do really well in training.”
With the strength of the squad it may not be a youth-centric lineup on Wednesday, but for the like Darwin Nuñez and Cody Gakpo in attack, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo in midfield, and Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley in defence a start could be on offer.
“If they do well in training—which they have all done until now—they will get their chance eventually,” Slot added. “So, let’s see who will get their chance tomorrow but we know most of them, maybe even all of them, will get their playing time during the season.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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