Liverpool fans can enjoy a stress-free night watching their team in action on Wednesday as the Reds close out the league phase of the Champions League with a top-two finish already assured.
There’s nothing but pride at stake for Arne Slot’s side when they face PSV Eindhoven at the Philips Stadion tonight – just like a gamer enjoying a $400 bonus no deposit, LFC find themselves in bonus territory.
The 46-year-old has sensibly opted to leave a number of first-team regulars at home to rest up for the crucial Premier League visit to Bournemouth on Saturday, a fixture with far more riding on it than the midweek match in the Netherlands.
The Liverpool squad which has flown out for this game features a mixture of senior players who haven’t had many minutes so far this season, along with academy youngsters hoping to enjoy a first-team outing.
What starting XI could Slot pick for tonight’s match? Here’s what we’re predicting!
Predicted Liverpool starting XI to face PSV Eindhoven
There’s no Alisson Becker tonight, so Caoimhin Kelleher is likely to get the nod in goal, although we wouldn’t discount Vitezslav Jaros making a rare senior appearance either.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate haven’t travelled, so we could see a novel defensive composition against PSV.
Conor Bradley seems set to start on the right, with the left-back position a toss-up between Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas. Of those two, the latter has had fewer minutes this season, so he could be the one selected by Slot tonight.
We’re going for a centre-back pairing of Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo, with the Japanese midfielder potentially deployed away from his usual position. However, if the Liverpool boss would prefer a more natural option in that role, he might hand a start to young Amara Nallo.
There’s no Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister in the midfield engine room, so we predict that their places will be filled by Tyler Morton and James McConnell, both of whom have had snippets of first-team action during the season so far.
WIth Dominik Szoboszlai also left at home, Slot might give Harvey Elliott a start in the number 10 role. Another contender for that berth are under-21 starlets Trey Nyoni and Kieran Morrison.
Mo Salah and Luis Diaz are the only senior forwards not in the squad, so the attack could possibly have an experienced ring to it. However, we envisage that Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo will be held in reserve and only called upon if truly needed.
Federico Chiesa hasn’t started a match for Liverpool in four months, but having had a few appearances off the bench of late, hopefully he’ll finally be included from the off tonight. We think he’ll be on the right flank, with Jayden Danns starting through the middle.
On the left, there could potentially be a first-team debut for Trent Kone-Doherty, who scored a couple of goals in the under-19s’ UEFA Youth League campaign towards the end of 2024.
Slot has the rare luxury of a match with no pressure for the Reds to get a result, and although he’ll be out to preserve our 100% Champions League record tonight, it’ll be a much-changed line-up tasked with achieving the win, no matter who’s selected to start at the Philips Stadion.
