Eddie Howe has been given a selection boost ahead of this Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
Anthony Gordon will serve the second of his three match suspension for violent conduct, while Lewis Hall and Sven Botman will also watch on from the stands with both ruled out with injury.
Our left-sided options are thin on the ground in Gordon’s absence and one of the favourites to take up that role this weekend is Harvey Barnes, who has been discussing his readiness for this weekend’s game following a “difficult season.”
It felt like a strong hint at Eddie Howe’s cup final plans on Monday night when Harvey Barnes got the nod to start on the left wing in Anthony Gordon’s absence.
There had been calls for Joe Willock or Joelinton to come in down the left, but Barnes took his chance by delivering a vital assist for Bruno’s winning goal, and has now been talking about his fitness ahead of Sunday’s final.
“Yeah, it’s obviously been a difficult season,” Barnes said after his first Premier League start in three months on Monday. “So, it was just nice to be back out there. I enjoyed being out there from the beginning in the Premier League against West Ham. It’s been a while.
“And then, probably personally, I think it’s a nice confidence boost going into the weekend to get a good amount of minutes and be involved in the goal and have a few nice moments. So, no, it was a good day.
“I have come back from injury well. It’s obviously tough when you haven’t been playing week on week. So fitness-wise, you’re building that up every game. But I felt good out there today. I felt nice and fit and strong.”
The absence of Hall and Gordon on the left-hand side will have undoubtedly scuppered Howe’s approach to the game, but the back-up plan will still be vital to how we navigate the final.
Tino Livramento has proven to be an adept one-on-one defender – and he’ll have to continue to prove his ability when faced with Mo Salah on Sunday. Liverpool’s biggest threat comes through the Egyptian, who has a stunning 44 goal involvements in the Premier League this season.
Arne Slot has been given a selection dilemma of his own with Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the squad for Sunday after suffering an ankle injury against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. Connor Bradley and Joe Gomez are both also unavailable.
Jarell Quansah is set to divert from his natural position as a centre-back to play on the right of the back four. It gives Barnes, hopefully high in confidence after his assist against West Ham, a good chance to exploit the right-side of the Reds defence.