Liverpool’s penultimate game of the season takes them to Brighton after a week of enjoying the Dubai sun, and Arne Slot has a full squad to select from for the occasion.
The Reds are making sure to enjoy the break they have between games after the players jetted off to Dubai and the coaches to Ibiza during the week, with title celebrations in full swing.
Their holidays will have to wait, though, as a trip to Brighton now awaits on Monday evening in what is the final away game of the season.
With no injuries to consider and Slot showing he is open to several changes, his lineup could be heavily determined by who shows they are ready to start from training on Friday and over the weekend.
Team news
With Liverpool only returning to the AXA Training Centre on Friday, Slot did not have a lot of team news to deliver:
No new injuries to report post-Arsenal, fully fit squad
Full squad back in training at the AXA on Friday after break
Slot did not disclose if Trent Alexander-Arnold would be involved
Liverpool’s XI vs. Brighton
There is no telling exactly how Slot will approach the trip to Brighton after affording his players four days off with more than a week between games.
It would not be a surprise to see him make only three changes from the last match against Arsenal, though, with Harvey Elliott, Alexis Mac Allister and Diogo Jota all coming in.
They would replace Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo respectively after the trio were all afforded minutes off the bench at Anfield last Sunday.
This would enable Elliott to play alongside regular starters instead of a much-changed side as he did at Chelsea, giving a more representative look at his quality – although Slot has already said he’s had more than enough time to assess his squad:
Backline stays unchanged
Mac Allister and Elliott come into midfield alongside Gravenberch
Salah and Diaz continue in attack with Jota as the No. 9
That would see the Reds line up as follows:
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Elliott, Mac Allister; Salah, Diaz, Jota
If Slot were instead to take a similar approach as the trip to Stamford Bridge, despite the result, to save his ‘strongest’ XI for the final day, there could be more than three changes.
Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Darwin Nunez will be hopeful of minutes, though the latter has not started any of the last nine matches with his future all but decided.
Slot could make five changes and still call on a strong XI:
Quansah and Tsimikas replace Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson
Endo joins Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in midfield
Nunez comes in as the No. 9 with Salah and Diaz alongside
Those tweaks would result in this lineup for Liverpool:
Alisson; Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Diaz, Nunez
There is no telling quite how Slot will approach another game with no jeopardy for his side, nor with his mind already made up on which players he sees as part of his core group next season.
It does create an element of excitement for supporters as you do not quite know what to expect, although Liverpool will know Brighton have plenty of incentive as they hope to clinch European football next season.
There is no right or wrong lineup, per se, but having declared it is time to “draw a line under” Alexander-Arnold’s situation, it will be interesting to see if he is named in the squad.
