Arne Slot must have felt all his Christmases had come at once on Saturday as he had not one, but two right-backs available for Liverpool’s win over West Ham.
While it will have been a huge relief to have both Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez come through the match unscathed, though, Slot now has a big balancing act on his hands as the Reds play three times in just one week.
The Liverpool boss has admitted it will be a challenge in deciding who should play when, with the Reds facing a double-header at Wolves and a Champions League trip to Galatasaray in the space of seven days.
Liverpool have to lose one of the two games vs Wolves, which do you pick?
Out of the cup or top four hopes take a hit?
FA Cup trophy is pictured on display ahead of the fourth round clash between Macclesfield Town and Brentford (Credit: Getty Images/James Gill - Danehouse). The Premier League trophy pictured at Anfield before Liverpool's final match of the season against Crystal Palace at Anfield (Credit: Getty Images/Julian Finney).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/James Gill/Danehouse/Julian Finney
But Slot should concern himself no more, because here at Rousing The Kop, we have deciphered exactly who he should pick at right-back for Liverpool and when.
Wolves vs Liverpool (Premier League): Curtis Jones
With Frimpong only returning to training in the week, Slot had little option but to start Gomez against West Ham on Saturday.
Although it is always a risk to play the 28-year-old for more than he can handle, it was a smart decision by Slot to take him off with more than ten minutes left to play.
The turnaround is tight before Liverpool head to Wolves, but that should mean Gomez is fresh to go again from the start at Molineux.
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Nevertheless, Slot really cannot afford to take any risks with his No. 2 just now and, as a result, we’d be going with Curtis Jones for Tuesday.
READ MORE: Rio Ngumoha’s ideal wing partner is emerging at Liverpool, they can give Wolves nightmares
Jones was excellent against Brighton at full-back, and having failed to play a single minute at the weekend, he will be itching to play. Dominik Szoboszlai is needed in midfield following news that Florian Wirtz will not be fit, but Slot can spare Jones before possibly bringing Gomez off the bench later on.
As for Frimpong, we’d be bringing him on for Mohamed Salah at right wing as Wolves’ legs tire.
Wolves vs Liverpool (FA Cup): Joe Gomez
Having saved his legs with a cameo in the Premier League match, Slot can then throw Gomez back in for Friday’s return to Molineux in the FA Cup.
Liverpool’s longest-serving player has shown how capable he is over recent times and while there is always a risk of injury, two starts in six days should not be beyond him.
Of course, he may not last the 90 minutes here, and if we were Slot we’d be using that to plan around how this game can be used to build Frimpong up as well.
Boring, but does anybody really see Slot pulling a surprise selection?
Liverpool predicted XI vs Wolves TalkingPoints
Liverpool predicted XI vs Wolves TalkingPoints
We’d have the Dutchman starting at right wing for this one, with Salah on the bench. When Gomez needs to be removed, Salah can come on, with Frimpong shifting to right-back. Easy.
Galatasaray vs Liverpool: Jeremie Frimpong
With a little more time in his legs, next Tuesday should be time for Frimpong to come back into the right-back role in the Champions League.
Two 90s in five days actually feels do-able for the 25-year-old, but to be on the safe side perhaps Slot should look to be giving him 75 or so and getting Gomez back into the action.
Jones is always there as a fall-back and with Wirtz hopefully back for the visit to Turkey, perhaps Szoboszlai could even do a job. Having said that, Liverpool supporters are still reeling from the last time he played at right-back against Galatasaray, so maybe not.
This is not an easy thing to manage for Slot, and he also has to think about how it impacts on the rest of the team, but while we don’t envy him having to make these decisions, we think we’ve got this one all worked out.
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