'Doing really well': Arne Slot says two Liverpool youngsters have really impressed him in first-team training
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Liverpool look set to rotate heavily for their FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
The Reds are strong favourites to breeze past their League Two opposition in the third round at Anfield.
However, with Accrington manager John Doolan well up for the fight, Liverpool are going to have to be careful of complacency.
Nevertheless, there’s little question that the game offers a chance for Arne Slot to use some rarely seen members of the Liverpool squad.
The third round of the FA Cup is often an opportunity for Premier League sides to showcase some of their most promising youngsters and that could well be the case for Liverpool on Saturday.
With that in mind, Slot was asked in his pre-match press conference on Friday whether fans could expect to see teenagers Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni get some minutes.
Arne Slot impressed by Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni
With a huge fixture away to Nottingham Forest coming on Tuesday evening, rotation is certainly the name of the game for Slot this weekend.
While there are a number of more senior players who will be itching to play, that could also mean the Liverpool head coach looks to the academy in certain instances.
Ngumoha is a sensational prospect who has had fans excited since his arrival last summer, while Nyoni really caught Slot’s eye in pre-season.
And judging by the boss’ words ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie, both players may well be in contention.
READ MORE: Three youngsters all in with chance to play for Liverpool vs Accrington including one senior debut
“We still have to train, so we have to wait and see how everybody has recovered today and make a decision which players will come to the game,” Slot said.
“But Trey has been in the squad many times already, Rio only once, but these players are doing really well when they train with us, doing really well when they play with the under 21’s. So, as long as they keep doing that their chances of getting their moment in the first-team will increase of course.”
Ngumoha and Nyoni set for FA Cup minutes
It has already been reported that plenty of first-team stars will be rested for Liverpool against Accrington.
After the difficult festive run of fixtures, that sounds like a wise idea from Slot.
As a result, the door is certainly open for the likes of Ngumoha and Nyoni to play. Centre-back Amara Nallo could make his Liverpool debut, too.
In terms of Nyoni, he could benefit from a mid-week injury to Tyler Morton to start in midfield.
As for Ngumoha, he feels more likely for a place on the bench. But if things are going well for Liverpool, it would not be a surprise to see the 16-year-old get on the pitch at some stage.
