DILEMMAS IN SELECTIONS
In preparation for Thursday’s Europa League match between Toulouse and Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp may decide to significantly rotate his team.
Cody Gakpo, Stefan Bajcetic, Luke Chambers, and Ben Doak are all questionable, while Andy Robertson and Thiago Alcantara will all miss the game due to injuries.
We’ll examine three crucial choices that Klopp will have to make when deciding the starting lineup for Thursday’s match.
CALLUM SCANLON VS. KOSTAS TSIMIKAS
Kostas Tsimikas and Callum Scanlon are the only available left-backs for Klopp to choose from because Robertson and Chambers are both expected to miss the game on Thursday.
In Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday, Kostas Tsimikas played 62 minutes, which raises the possibility that Klopp was preserving the Greek’s level of fitness.
However, there is definitely a case for Tsimikas being rested for this game given that Liverpool will play Nottingham Forest just three days following their match with Toulouse.
Throughout the preseason, 18-year-old Callum Scanlon made frequent appearances and impressed with a few promising displays.
It could be worthwhile to preserve Tsimikas as much as possible given that Andy Robertson will probably be out until 2024, especially in Europa League games.
But it wouldn’t surprise me if Klopp keeps Tsimikas in for this week’s home contests against Toulouse and Nottingham Forest.
HARVEY ELLIOTT vs. MOHAMED SALAH
It wouldn’t be too strange to see the same starting lineup today after Klopp unexpectedly fielded a good side in the 2-0 victory against Union Saint-Gilloise on matchday two.
Salah started that game before being replaced at halftime, but Klopp will want to keep the Egyptian King in peak physical condition as we approach the holiday season.
Due to Ben Doak’s ongoing injury concerns, Harvey Elliott would have to take over at right wing.
After his outstanding bench performances in previous weeks, Elliott absolutely deserves a start and may be pushed to play an offensive position in the lineup.
This choice becomes even more feasible with the likely presence of players like Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones in the midfield.
JARRELL QUANSAH vs. VIRGIL VAN DIJK
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibou Konate are expected to be replaced by Joe Gomez and Joel Matip on Liverpool’s right side of the defence, but the left side is still up for debate.
Before Jarrell Quansah began against Leicester City and Union Saint-Gilloise, Virgil Van Dijk started Liverpool’s Europa League debut against LASK.
The Dutchman, however, has played a lot of football recently for both club and nation.
With Toulouse presently occupying the second spot in the group, a victory here would put the Reds in position to advance to the knockout stages.
As a result, I believe Klopp will start Van Dijk alongside Joel Matip and go strong at the back.
But in these group games, I believe Quansah has proven himself worthy of starting at the centre of the defence.
Predicted XI: Kelleher, Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Endo, Gravenberch, Jones, Elliott, Nunez, Jota.