Arne Slot makes surprise choice with £67m player and only four changes: Liverpool's predicted XI vs Spurs
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Liverpool have the chance to lay down a marker in the Carabao Cup semi-final as they face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
The Reds are barely two weeks out from hammering Tottenham 6-3 on their own turf just before Christmas.
A a similar result this time around would see Liverpool take a healthy lead back to Anfield for the second-leg in February.
With a kind-looking FA Cup tie to come on Saturday, there’s a chance that Arne Slot will keep his team as strong as possible for this one. And with that in mind, here’s the XI we expect the Liverpool head coach to field.
Defence
In normal circumstances, the Carabao Cup would see Caoimhin Kelleher return as the first name on the teamsheet.
However, Slot refused to commit to which goalkeeper he will pick on Wednesday during his Tuesday press conference. As a result, we think the Dutchman will make the surprise decision to go with £67m man Alisson Becker for this one, with Kelleher coming in for Saturday.
In defence, we anticipate that Slot will go similarly strong. With the capability to rotate in his back pocket for Saturday, that would feel like the best choice.
After a dreadful game against Man United on Sunday, few need a reset like Trent Alexander-Arnold and we think he’ll get another go here.
Alongside Trent, it feels probable that Virgil van Dijk will get a rare outing in the Carabao Cup while Slot has already ruled Ibrahima Konate out. Jarell Quansah will step in for the Frenchman.
Finally, it feels like a good opportunity to get back-to-back games into Kostas Tsimikas, with Andy Robertson taking a much-needed rest.
Midfield
Slot has rotated his midfield plenty during the opening rounds of the Carabao Cup, but we think that will stop on Wednesday.
Dominik Szoboszlai will not be well enough to start, though, so that will likely mean that Harvey Elliott comes in for a rare appearance.
Wataru Endo has been great in the Carabao Cup so far, but we’d expect Slot to return to playing two of his more trusted players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It feels harsh on Endo, but we think it’ll be the first-choice pairing of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, with the Japanese getting his start on Saturday.
Attack
There are plenty of options for Slot in attack as he looks to rotate to be his Liverpool squad as fresh as possible.
First thing first, after patiently waiting his turn it feels only right that Diogo Jota finally gets a start here.
It could be that Slot also decides to throw Federico Chiesa in, but we think the Italian is more likely to be seen from the bench. Again with the weekend in mind, it’s probable that Mohamed Salah goes again.
On the Liverpool left it is back to being a straight shootout between Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz but with the Colombian having come off earlier on Sunday, we think he’ll get the nod.
