Despite Mohamed Salah’s surprise and eight changes, Liverpool’s team news against Bournemouth is confirmed.
Liverpool has announced that X changes have been made to their roster for the Carabao Cup match against Bournemouth. What our three writers would have done is evident
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed his team to take on Bournemouth this evening as Liverpool looks to book its place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. The Reds have made the long trip down to the south coast, where they’ll be looking to continue their good form so far this season. As expected, Klopp has run the changes with his side following Sunday’s win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. The Liverpool boss has made eight adjustments to his side, but has nevertheless named a strong front line.
It’s surprising that Mohamed Salah also starts, as Klopp chooses not to rest the Egyptian following his injury sustained during the contentious loss at Tottenham at the end of September. Cody Gakpo makes his first start since returning from injury.
The Liverpool team against Bournemouth is: Endō, Szoboszlai, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Elliott; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas.
Despite an unfortunate loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup right after the World Cup break last season, Liverpool has advanced rather easily this time around thanks to some better draws. Newcastle United has already eliminated Pep Guardiola’s team.
Liverpool is the clear favorite to win the competition now that City is out, but if Arsenal defeats West Ham United, it might also have a serious chance. But Jürgen Klopp ought to be recognizing a chance.
Some of our writers from Liverpool.com offered their opinions on Klopp’s starting lineup before tonight’s match. Check out our proposed lineup and how it stacks up against the confirmed lineup.
Starting with Matt Addison, Dominik Szoboszlai
The Liverpool team will see changes, but advancement should still be possible for the Reds. Gakpo should start because he hasn’t really played much, and Kelleher will be in goal. Wataru Endō and Harvey Elliott will almost certainly be involved as well, and Curtis Jones is back from suspension and in relatively good shape.
Joe Gomez will play right back, while Jarell Quansah and Joël Matip will play in the middle. Luke Chambers can take Kostas Tsimikas’ place at left back after he plays for an hour. In the middle of the pitch, Dominik Szoboszlai can outplay Ryan Gravenberch with Endō and Jones because he is a tireless player. However, against Nottingham Forest, the former Bayern Munich player appears jaded.
James Martin – Curtis Jones at full-back: We’ve only seen Jones in the Alexander-Arnold role once this season, but it happened to fall in this competition, so there’s a good case for Klopp to use it again. My starting XI: Kelleher; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Endō, Jones; Elliott, Núñez, Gakpo. Predicted scoreline: 2-1 to Liverpool. One thing to watch: How seriously does Liverpool take this game?
Elliott can start against Bournemouth, joining Gakpo and Jota, and Klopp has been much more willing to use him on the right wing this season. After making that position his primary one, Elliott now has to establish his worth there once more, possibly with an eye toward Salah’s future.
David Comerford: Cody Gakpo makes a comeback
Kelleher starts in goal because this is his competition, and I’m switching up the defense completely from the previous weekend. Gomez, who appears to be growing more at ease in the role of Alexander-Arnold, is positioned on the right, while Quansah receives another well-earned start alongside Matip. As he recovers from an injury, Chambers wasn’t quite at full strength against Toulouse, but he ought to be able to perform better here and relieve some of Tsimikas’ workload, as he will be covering Robertson in the Premier League.
For me, Endō and Jones make perfect midfield pairings. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first player ended up starting every cup game, at least up until Christmas, and the second player needs playing time after serving his Premier League suspension. Gravenberch would be my choice for the third spot because, despite starting on the weekend, he left before the hour.
Ideally, Doak would play on the wing in this match, but since he’s just recently started training again, it might be too soon. Because of this, I would start Elliott there once more, as we did against Toulouse, and then add Gakpo back to the starting lineup following his brief injury absence. Jota, who was brought on in place of Gravenberch, appears poised to finish the attack. Despite nine changes from the previous weekend, the lineup is still capable of defeating Bournemouth, a team with its own set of priorities. If not, Liverpool’s bench will be loaded with offensive players.
