Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has a tough call to make ahead of the home clash with Southampton – after Harvey Elliott provided him with a selection headache with heroics against Paris Saint-Germain.
The 21-year-old’s strike in the 87th minute versus the French champions earned the Reds a dramatic 1-0 victory at Parc des Princes in midweek. Arguably the standout moment in the youngster’s career so far on Merseyside, his goal against the run of play will likely earn the starlet a unique place in Anfield history if his side is to go on to win a seventh European crown in May.
For now, Kop boss Slot will be be focused on ensuring that his players quickly put that memorable night behind them ahead of the visit of the Saints in the Premier League on Saturday. With the return leg against PSG in the last-16 of the Champions League to come just three days later, the Dutchman could opt to rotate his team in order to ensure fresh legs in midweek.
One player whose involvement does appear to be in doubt for the weekend is forward Cody Gakpo, who was ruled out of the PSG clash due to an ankle issue. Providing an update on his compatriot’s fitness, Slot confirmed on Friday that he has missed some training sessions so far this week.
He revealed: “He didn’t train yesterday yet so let’s see if he can train with us today. Close call. It is not a long term injury but he still had a bit of pain yesterday. Let’s see where he is today.”
Aside from the former PSV Eindhoven man, defenders Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley will also miss the encounter with basement club Southampton through injury. With the Reds boasting a 13-point lead at the summit, Slot could look to rotate Ryan Gravenberch Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson, who all played in midweek.
(Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
As the Saints currently occupy 20th place in the table, the temptation for Slot will be to hand his fringe players a spot in the starting XI on Saturday. In this vein, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Elliott and Darwin Nunez could well come in to offer some of the Anfield boss’ trusted lieutenant’s some rest.
Slot provided some insight into his selection dilemma heading into the Southampton game, saying: “If there was three, four, five days in between the last game and this one I would have probably started the same 11 again, even if there was only two days in between for the next one.
“Since there is only two days in between and we had to fight really hard and it’s not the first game after being out for three or four weeks, it’s probably the 50th game in three months – I don’t know how many.”
In a potentially telling admission over his plans, the manager added: “You take that into account but you take the quality from the team you face, you take the form of the players, how fit they are, which players fit best together.”
Liverpool predicted line-up to face Southampton (home): Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz
