Liverpool are set to clash with Brighton & Hove Albion twice within the next four days; first up is the Reds' Carabao Cup match at American Express Stadium.
The defending Carabao Cup champions drew Brighton in the competition's round of 16 after thrashing West Ham 5–1 in the third round. Liverpool has yet to play Fabian Hürzeler's squad this season and will now do so with a long list of injuries plaguing the team.
Diogo Jota remains sidelined with a rib injury while Alisson nurses a hamstring injury. Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are unfit as well, leaving Arne Slot without too many options to rotate into his starting XI. The good news for the Reds is Conor Bradley returned to training after picking up a knock while representing Northern Ireland.
Expect to see some rare faces get the nod in Wednesday's fixture as Slot manages his team ahead of a big Premier League clash with Brighton on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Here's what Liverpool's XI could look like against Brighton.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Brighton
Goalkeeper
GK: Vítězslav Jaroš—The goalkeeper could be in for his first start should Slot want to rest Caoimhín Kelleher.
Defenders
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold—Without many options on his bench, Slot will likely rely on Alexander-Arnold on Wednesday. Bradley is also an option, but the right-back has not played 90 minutes for the Reds since September.
CB: Joe Gomez—The England international could be in for just his second start under Slot should the manager rest his captain and Ibrahima Konaté.
CB: Jarell Quansah—Quansah might have lost his starting spot to Konaté, but he is still a reliable replacement for cup competitions, though he did score an own goal against West Ham in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
LB: Konstantinos Tsimikas—Expect Slot to continue to favor Tsimikas over Andy Robertson in midweek fixtures.
Midfielders
DM: Wataru Endo—The Japan international is in for a rare start under Slot after the manager praised his performance in the last round of the competition.
DM: Curtis Jones—Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch are both due for a rest. Expect Jones to get the nod after starting against both Chelsea at Arsenal.
Attackers
RW: Mohamed Salah—Fresh off rescuing a point for Liverpool against the Gunners, Salah will look to continue his blistering goalscoring form; the winger already has eight goals to his name across all competitions this season.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—After losing his starting job to Curtis Jones at the weekend, Szoboszlai is due to return to the XI.
LW: Cody Gakpo—Díaz will get a rest before Liverpool hosts Brighton in the Premier League this weekend, leaving Gakpo to start in his place.
ST: Darwin Núñez—The Uruguayan is Liverpool's starting striker for the foreseeable future as Jota remains sidelined with a rib injury.
Liverpool vs Brighton: Team News
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has made wholesale changes to his starting XI ahead of taking on Brighton at the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
Vitezslav Jaros starts ahead of Caoimhin Kelleher in the Liverpool goal, making his second appearance after debuting against Crystal Palace just before the international break. In defense, there are plenty of swaps too. Andy Robertson, who captains the side, is still at left-back ahead of Kostas Tsimikas, which could hint at the Greek starting in the weekend's fixture.
Conor Bradley, back from a minor injury following the October internationals in which he captained Northern Ireland, comes back into the team in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold while Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez are handed starts at center-back. They last started in the previous round: Liverpool's 5-1 home win over West Ham United.
In midfield, Tyler Morton will play his first minutes of the season after patiently waiting for an opportunity. He is in alongside Wataru Endo, who will play the deepest-lying role, and Curtis Jones, who stays in the team having started at Arsenal last weekend.
In attack, Cody Gakpo gets another start. Darwin Nunez is asked to go again as the number nine while Luis Diaz starts on the right-hand side in place of Mohamed Salah.
Slot's Rotation Policy
Speaking about team selection in his pre-match press conference and giving a hint at the changes he would make, Slot said on Tuesday: "The last thing is not always easy because they all want to play — and it would be strange for me if they are all happy [when] they don't play.
"But they are professionals, they know these things can happen and they also see the players who play in their positions do really well. So, that is mostly with Wata [Wataru Endo] but it is also with Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah, that they are in competition with Ryan [Gravenberch], Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate].
"So they understand and they see how well these players play and that they also stay fit until the last minute of the game. But I think Wata is one of the players that might be in the line-up [tomorrow] because the season is going to be so long and we will need him during the season. Therefore, once in a while he needs this playing time as well.
"Fortunately, he has this playing time with the national team, but it helps if he once in a while gets a game with us again. I really liked him against West Ham and what I admire about him, what I respect about him, is his personality because two times he had to come in five minutes before the end."
