Darwin Nunez faces an uncertain Liverpool future while Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving
Darwin Nunez faces an uncertain Liverpool future while Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving
Liverpool's incredible season comes to a conclusion today (May 25). The Reds face Crystal Palace at Anfield in their final game of the season before getting their hands on the Premier League trophy.
Arne Slot's side have been the outstanding team in the top flight this season and such has been their dominance, they sealed the title with four matches to spare after beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at home last month.
Since then, with the job already done, understandably standards have dropped somewhat, and Liverpool will go into this afternoon's encounter with FA Cup winners Palace having lost two and drew one of their past three games.
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Reds head coach Slot will be keen to return to winning ways and kick-start a weekend of celebrations on the red half of Merseyside. But does he go strong or does he continue to rotate his squad?
Our writers have their say...
Ian Doyle
It's long all largely been an irrelevance to Liverpool. But on the day they finally lift the Premier League trophy, they'll want to sign off a dominant domestic season on a high with Crystal Palace in town.
What, then, is Reds boss Arne Slot to do? He should be going as strong as possible then make some crowd-pleasing substitutions in the second half.
That means Alisson Becker in goal, with Andy Robertson returning at left-back. Skipper Virgil van Dijk comes in at centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate, with Conor Bradley continuing at right-back.
Alexis Mac Allister's season is already over, so Curtis Jones can come in alongside Ryan Gravenberch as the deeper midfielders with Dominik Szoboszlai reverting to the number 10 role.
And up top, Luis Diaz is back down the middle with Cody Gakpo on the left and Mohamed Salah on the right.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz.
Theo Squires
Liverpool haven't won since clinching the Premier League title last month, but surely they will finish the season in style in front of their own supporters ahead of restarting the celebrations and getting their hands on the trophy.
I expect Arne Slot to name a strong side, sticking with the majority of the first-choice XI that have delivered the title so emphatically.
Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson return in defence, while Conor Bradley keeps his place at right-back over Trent Alexander-Arnold as the Reds continue to already have one eye on next season.
I want another look at Dominik Szoboszlai in a deeper midfield role, so he partners Ryan Gravenberch in the absence of the injured Alexis Mac Allister. This means Harvey Elliott gets another chance to show what he can do at number 10.
In attack, Mohamed Salah has one last chance to beat those Premier League goal contributions and assist records, though he has surely already done enough to clinch the Golden Boot and Playmaker awards.
Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo continues on the left as Luis Diaz returns upfront to lead the attack. It's been one hell of a season for Liverpool. Now let the party begin.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Elliott, Gakpo; Diaz.