There could have been a temptation for Arne Slot to rotate his side at Girona, but he has stressed that Liverpool “will start with a very good team” for the Champions League clash.
The Reds were on the receiving end of an unexpected break over the weekend after the Merseyside derby was postponed, with the decision deemed “very good” by Slot.
It lessened the need for rotation against Girona, with key players afforded the chance to rest with six days between games as opposed to just three.
Slot has taken a 19-man squad with him to Spain and confirmed that Alisson is fit to start, and he also informed the media that “there is no need to rotate.”
Asked if the derby cancellation altered rotation plans for Tuesday, the Dutchman said: “If we would’ve played that game, then maybe we would’ve still played the same team we are playing tomorrow night with.
“But you never know what that fixture – which people told me can be quite intense – would’ve led to.
“I think it was a very good decision to cancel the game for the safety of all the people. If you play such a special game, the last game at Goodison Park, it needs to be in good circumstances.
“It has nothing to do with the game being cancelled, but that’s the good end result of it, that we can now play this game in good circumstances. A very good choice for safety not to play that game.
“Now everyone is really fit because we skipped the game on Saturday. There’s no reason to rotate from the last match.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, December 9, 2024: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of the UEFA Champions League match between Girona FC and Liverpool FC. (Photo by Jessica Hornby/Propaganda)
“Maybe there’s a reason for the upcoming match, but there’s also three days between that one. We will start, like all the other games we’ve started with, with a very good team tomorrow.”
The implication of Slot’s words is that we can expect the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah to start.
They could’ve been swapped out in favour of the likes of Jarell Quansah, James Norris, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott, but Slot’s message for why is clear.
He concluded his press conference by saying, “We are pushing really hard to end up in the top eight to have the best possible seeding, but also to skip that round (playoffs).”