Arne Slot has explained his decision to start Alexis Mac Allister over Curtis Jones against Bournemouth, even though he cannot play the full 90 minutes.
Mac Allister missed the end of last season and the start of pre-season due to a buildup of injuries, but starts Liverpool’s Premier League opener.
That comes at the expense of Jones in the only change from Sunday’s Community Shield lineup, with Ryan Gravenberch still absent – this time due to a red card suspension.
Speaking to NBC Sports ahead of kickoff at Anfield, Slot revealed his thinking behind starting Mac Allister alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, August 4, 2025: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Athletic Bilbao at Anfield. Liverpool won 4-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“Macca is back, which is nice. He will not be available for 90 minutes unfortunately, because he missed quite a long period of time,” the head coach explained.
“But he’s back now with the team for two to three weeks, so we think he’s able to start again.
“Even more because we miss Ryan Gravenberch as well and last season we mainly played with him, Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
“If you have to miss two in the first game of the season, that would not be ideal; that’s why I decided to start Mac Allister.”
It is almost certain then that Slot will turn to Jones as a replacement for Mac Allister around the hour mark or slightly later, with Liverpool’s medical staff still eager to manage his minutes.
But the Dutchman’s thinking behind turning to his No. 10 to ensure as much familiarity as possible from his title-winning side is intriguing.
His setup will be slightly different, with Mac Allister and Szoboszlai more of a double pivot and Wirtz acting as a No. 10, but the fluency between his two deep-lying midfielders should be the same.
Liverpool have a number of other midfield options available from the bench including Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott and teenager Trey Nyoni.