A look at the early team news for Liverpool's Carabao Cup fourth-round clash at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Curtis Jones of Liverpool leaves the game injured during the Premier League match between Brentford and Liverpool at Gtech Community Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones leaves the game injured against Brentford
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If Liverpool head coach Arne Slot could pick an opponent to play next, after seeing his side slip to a fourth straight Premier League loss, perhaps it would not be Crystal Palace. But that's exactly who the Reds will face at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Slot's bruised side will go into the Carabao Cup fourth-round clash on the back of a dispiriting 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday night that raised further questions over whether they stand any chance of retaining the league crown they won so emphatically last season.
It is fair to suggest that the League Cup is not top of the Liverpool head coach's priorities for a 2025-26 campaign that is in danger of going awry. But back in home comforts, after playing five of the last six games in all competitions away from Merseyside, Slot will be determined to get a win to lift his squad's shaky morale.
But there are problems. Firstly Palace have already got the better of the Reds twice this season - in the Community Shield on penalties at Wembley in August and then in the Premier League at Selhurst Park last month.
That last-gasp 2-1 win has sent Liverpool spiralling, with defeats to Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford then following.
Another issue facing Slot is the fact that he could be without six players for the visit of Palace, limiting his ability to rotate his squad ahead of what is shaping up to be a must-win league match at home to ever-improving Aston Villa on Saturday.
Injury was added to insult at the weekend when it was confirmed that the withdrawal of the impressive Curtis Jones was because of a knock.
Slot said: “Curtis, we have to wait and see. He asked to be taken off but he walked off instead of needing treatment.
“It’s a lot of games and there’s another one in four days.”
Slot was without another midfielder, Ryan Gravenberch, as well as striker Alexander Isak, at the Gtech Community Stadium due to ankle and groin problems respectively.
The pair joined hamstrung duo Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong on the sidelines while teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni is out for the season after ACL surgery.
None of that trio will be fit to face Palace and Reds supporters await updates on Isak, Gravenberch and Jones.
Speaking at his press conference on Friday to preview the trip to Brentford, Slot said: "Jeremie's not in a good place. What I mean by that he is definitely not going to play today, tomorrow or next week. Hamstring injury so that's going to take a while.
"Alex, not too bad, but a question mark for the weekend, so let’s see where he is.
"He didn't travel with us (to Frankfurt), so today we are in again. Yesterday we were in as well but we had a day to travel. Let's see where he is today."