Arne Slot Hints at Makeshift Backline for Southampton League Cup Tie
The Liverpool manager says the League Cup can be useful for giving minutes to players who need them but defensive injuries could make team selection difficult.
With a busy fixture list, at times the League Cup can feel one competition too many for a side in the fight for Premier League and European glory. For a deep squad, though, there are always players in need of minutes.
For Arne Slot’s Liverpool side, that can mean fringe first players who need to stay sharp in case they’re needed. It can also mean players working their way back from injury who haven’t fully found their rhythm yet.
Ahead of Wednesday’s League Cup quarter-final away to Southampton, Slot highlighted midfielder Wataru Endo and forwards Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa as three players who could use a few mid-week minutes.
“That is for me is also a positive thing about the League Cup,” Slot noted. “You’ve seen until now that we haven’t played many starters. That’s really important for some players like Wataru for keeping his rhythm as well.”
“After [Fulham] Diogo wasn’t completely fit so let’s see if he can train today. Hopefully he can make some minutes but I don’t expect him to start, and Federico will have minutes tomorrow whether he starts or comes in.”
Of the trio, Endo seems the likeliest to start, with Jota and Chiesa likely to be limited to a half of action at most—which complicates matters further for the manager given he only has so many substitutions to work with.
Another complicating matter will be an injury-hit defence, with Slot noting he only has four fully fit options for his backline and hinting at either a few youth players or otherwise unusual selections to round out his lineup.
“We have only four defenders,” he added. “Probably the ones that have started a lot will not play 90 minutes and maybe not even at all so it’s going to be academy players or players that nobody would expect in the last line.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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