Preview: Liverpool vs. Accrington Stanley

Today at 11:57 AM

Liverpool hope to regain rhythm after a disappointing set of outings

HOME TEAM VS. AWAY TEAM

| Saturday, January 11th |
FA Cup - 3rd Round Proper | Anfield
3PM GMT/10AM EST

Liverpool have faced Accrington Stanley just once before: in a 2-0 FA Cup tie back in January 1956. Here's hoping for more of the same on Saturday.

To get here, Accrington Stanley defeated a 10-man Rushall Olympic in the First Round, following this up with a victory via penalties against a 10-man Swindon Town (who gave up a stoppage time equalizer to give Accrington the chance). At the very least, Liverpool will hope to avoid a sending off.

In the league this season they're struggling, currently sitting 19th in League Two having lost 10 of their 23 matches played thus far (and conceding 40). Their away form has been poor, with seven of their league losses coming away from home. That said, they've won their last two, including a 2-0 away win against Colchester United, who sit two places above them in 17th.

Tyler Walton and Shaun Whalley are the side's joint top scorers, both on six total goals; Accrington has had a total of 15 different goalscorers thus far this season.

Accrington will relish the opportunity to play at Anfield, and will treat this game quite seriously. This will pose a challenge, regardless of the difference in position in the broader pyramid. Though some rotation may happen as Accrington balance injuries and fitness and league hopes as well, the Reds will have to hit the right level of rotation to avoid a disjointed dog fight against a side who will very much want to show themselves capable against the big boys.

They have struggled with the weather this week in terms of training ground impediments, but do not bring any injury concerns with them to Anfield. Though 86 positions on the football pyramid separate the two sides, Accrington will come primed to take advantage of any chance they're given.

Accrington manager John Doolan, it should be noted, knows this Liverpool side better than most lower league managers might: he was an Academy coach at Liverpool, and he was the man who noticed Trent Alexander-Arnold's budding talent when the Scouser was just six. At that time, Alexander-Arnold was a center-forward.

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)

Kelleher; Bradley, Konaté, Endo, Tsimikas; McConnell, Elliot, Chiesa; Ngumoha, Núñez, Gakpo

Liverpool have been out of sorts. Though not helped by weather or officiating, the Reds have dropped points and lost a first leg in their last two outings, and arguably deserved it.

This dip in form — caused in part, Arne Slot suggests, by the output against Tottenham and West Ham prior to the week's disappointments — makes the team selection somewhat harder for the Liverpool boss, as managing minutes is important, but finding rhythm is as well.

Given the level of the opposition, we can nonetheless expect some rotation, with a mixture of squad players who have been on limited minutes possibly getting a start (I'm looking at you, Harvey Elliott) and Academy players on the cusp getting another run out (here thinking of the likes of Trey Nyoni and James McConnell).

A big question is what Slot will do with his back five, as his first choice have been shaky of late. Ibrahima Konaté has returned to the side but has seemed off his best, and has been at the scene of the crime a couple times over the past two matches. The boss may want to give him more minutes as the defender looks to return to fitness and form, but equally too many minutes in a short space of time might do more harm than good. The limited availability at the center-back position through injury means that Wataru Endo is likely to feature there alongside either one of the first choice two or a relatively untested youngster.

The fullbacks are likely to be rotated, even if Trent Alexander-Arnold has seemed out of form himself. The spine of the team is a challenge, as Slot will want to manage minutes, but equally a team filled with too much youth could find themselves bullied or out of sorts. We therefore might see one or two names in midfield and/or attack that we don't expect to see, simply to give the team a level of senior experience — particularly if the back five is heavily rotated.

Of course, Arne Slot will know more about Accrington Stanley than any of us, and might well make decisions based on their strengths alongside considerations of fitness and rhythm.

What the Managers Had to Say

Arne Slot: "I think every team that plays against us, it's a special occasion for every team we face – but especially for a lower-league team. They will be all up for it, they've lived towards this game for many weeks probably, nine out of 10 times all players are fit and there's no-one suspended. The challenge is always to bring the best out of ourselves.

John Dooley: "We know the size of the task, we could have had the best facilities ever but you're talking about playing Liverpool Football Club. But Liverpool might have an off-day and we might have an unbelievable day. We might have Lady Luck with us, you just never know, it's the magic of the cup."

The Officials

Referee: Lewis Smith Assistant Referees: Richard West & Andrew Fox Fourth Official: Zac Kennard-Kettle

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