With suspension, injuries and a busy fixture list to consider, Arne Slot could turn to four players who have never started a game for Liverpool in the League Cup clash at Southampton.
The Reds are a victory away from a semi-final berth on Wednesday evening, but Slot has already confirmed that “it’s going to be a game where not all our starters will start.”
The Dutchman noted that a “few starters” will keep their place but we should expect rotation to the XI and a host of changes later in the game.
With Andy Robertson (suspended), Kostas Tsimikas (ankle), Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) unavailable, opportunities are to open up for several young players.
A potential quartet to do so have zero starts for Liverpool between them, but incredibly two of them have League Cup winners’ medals to their names already.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 25, 2024: Liverpool's Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and Trey Nyoni celebrate with the trophy after the Football League Cup Final match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Wembley Stadium. Liverpool won 1-0 after extra-time. (Photo by Peter Powell/Propaganda)
Trey Nyoni (17), Amara Nallo (18), Jayden Danns (18) and James Norris (21) will all be considered to play a role – combined they have nine first-team appearances off the bench.
Early team news from the Times Paul Joyce suggests Nyoni is set to make his full debut at St Mary’s in a midfield that will likely include Alexis Mac Allister and Tyler Morton.
The 17-year-old was part of the League Cup-winning squad last season and was used off the bench in the previous round of the competition by Slot, playing the final 26 minutes at Brighton.
Danns, meanwhile, has only recently returned to academy action after a long-term back injury but will be under consideration, while centre-back Nallo and left-back Norris could have big roles to play.
Nallo, an aggressive defender without any first-team outing, was on the bench at Newcastle and was part of the senior setup during pre-season, while Norris was on the extended bench during the recent trip to Girona.
All have been surrounded by the first team for some time and are no strangers to the senior squad, and we should also mention midfielder James McConnell (20) will also come into consideration.
An interesting evening awaits and perhaps even more surprises. Confirmation of the team sheet is expected from 6.45pm (GMT).
What Slot has said
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Slot said: “You talk about these two (Nallo and Norris) now, but there’s a few others who have made a good impact in training sessions.
“I’m aware we’ve only got four defenders available, and probably the ones who have started a lot of times will not play 90 minutes, or maybe not even at all.
“So it’s going to be either academy players who get playing time or players nobody would expect to see in the last line that are going to play in the last line [vs. Southampton].”