The question of who plays at right-back for Liverpool has been a constant source of speculation from game-to-game this season.
With Dominik Szoboszlai suspended, Wataru Endo did a fine job against Sunderland on Wednesday, but the Japanese picked up a nasty-looking injury which has ruled him out of Saturday’s game with Brighton and well beyond.
Szoboszlai returns for the FA Cup tie at Anfield, but Arne Slot may choose to stick the Hungarian back in his rightful position in midfield.
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Curtis Jones in action during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.
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Curtis Jones is likely to be another player under consideration to fill in at full-back, although the Scouser is seemingly out of favour for the time being.
According to former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson, however, playing Jones out of position on Saturday is the best solution available to Slot.
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Recent weeks have seen speculation really ramp up over whether Jones has a long-term future at Liverpool.
As his contract approaches its final year, the 25-year-old has played only 57 minutes across the Reds’ last five matches.
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Right-back could be a way for Jones to get back into the team, but rather than being picked for his own ability there, Thompson says Slot should be thinking mostly about Szoboszlai when deciding to play Jones.
“There’s so many fixtures now and the squad is thin, so I would go with Curtis there [at right-back] because I think Dominik has been such a prominent force in midfield”, the pundit told The Official Liverpool FC Podcast.
“He played very well against Man City but I would certainly go with our strongest team. I believe we need a good run in the FA Cup this side, it’s been too bitty and giving people an opportunity to have a go at the manager and the staff. So, I just think, as we did in the last round.”
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Jordan Henderson of Liverpool lifts The Emirates FA Cup trophy after their sides victory during The FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium
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“I would play Curtis and then bring Joe [Gomez] on for the last 20 minutes half an hour if you needed it, because you can’t risk Joe at the moment with his injury record.”
Who will Arne Slot decide to go with?
When faced with a decision over who should play at right-back this season, Slot has tended to lean towards Szoboszlai.
The Hungarian is arguably the best option in the absence of Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Gomez, but he is also a key part of Liverpool’s midfield.
Though he has done well at times this season, Jones is far less important to the starting XI and is unlikely to play in the event that everybody is fit.
As a result, it seems very possible that Slot will take Thompson’s advice and pick Jones on Saturday.
While it may not be his favoured position, the Liverpool academy graduate needs to take any chance he can get at the moment, and a good showing at right-back could lead to him nailing down the position until Frimpong returns.
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