FA CupLiverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion: Team news
Arne Slot sees ‘finding the right balance’ as imperative as he considers his team selection for Liverpool’s Emirates FA Cup meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Reds host Brighton at Anfield on Saturday night (8pm GMT kick-off) and the fourth-round tie will be their third game in the space of seven days.
Slot held his pre-match press conference on Friday morning and – after confirming Wataru Endo is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to the foot injury he sustained at Sunderland on Wednesday – was asked whether the schedule will influence the make-up of his side this weekend.
He replied: “Not the first time this season that we have to play three games in seven days and I’ve said many times, it’s part of being a top club, a big club, that you play a lot of games. But three in eight is already better and some teams have three in nine.
“And then it also depends of course, in the FA Cup, what draw you have and we play a very strong Brighton team because I think there are a lot of comparisons between Brighton and us. They absolutely don’t deserve to be in a position they are in at the moment, they play so much better than the league table shows. Almost every game they are competitive and deserve more than they get.
“So yeah, it’s another challenge… yesterday evening it took me a long, long time before I could fall into sleep because I was constantly considering what options I have for the line-up and what I should do, because indeed do you play the same players again or the others?
“Is this a moment for the others? But which others and in which position? So, I need another 24 hours to decide on the line-up.”
Jeremie Frimpong has missed Liverpool’s last three fixtures due to injury, while Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak, Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees.
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Watch on YouTubeSlot continued: “We’ve got three priorities – FA Cup, Champions League qualification and the Champions League – but we’re also aware of the limited options I have, we have, in terms of the squad.
“So, the load management is important as well because the last thing we could use right now is another injury.
“That is always a difficult balance for a manager, including his performance staff and medical staff: what is the best decision to make every single time? And it is also true that it wouldn’t be for the first time that a player could get injured if he has to play three games in seven days.
“But it happened also many, many, many times that the player could just play three games in seven days, so that’s the challenge we’re having.
“But the most important thing is we have to train today, see how the players are doing, listen to them [about] how they feel, and then make the best possible decision.”
The head coach was also quizzed on whether the FA Cup may provide an opportunity for Liverpool’s younger players to get game time.
Slot said: “A few of them come closer and closer to first-team football and a few of them already had it, with Rio [Ngumoha] and Trey [Nyoni].
“Games like this could be an option for them as well but, like I said, it’s finding the right balance because we do play a very strong and good team with Brighton tomorrow and finding the right balance in who to play is something we are going to think about even more today.”
Should Joe Gomez receive a yellow card and Liverpool progress, he would be suspended in the fifth round.
Meanwhile, Brighton have defender Jan Paul van Hecke available to start after he was substituted in the second half of their midweek defeat at Aston Villa.
Mats Wieffer, who has not played since December due to injury, is also fit to return at Anfield.
Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler said on Thursday: “There’s no new injury concerns.
“Mats Wieffer will be back so that’s a positive one. Mats is a big player who has a big impact on our game. He has a big personality as well so we definitely missed him and we are all happy that he’s back now.
“Jan Paul should be OK to start again. Yasin Ayari is still missing. He is doing rehab, but he’s getting closer. We expect him to be back soon.”
Solly March, Stefanos Tzimas and Adam Webster are long-term absentees for Brighton.
Last match
Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool (February 11): Alisson, Endo, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike.
Aston Villa 1-0 Brighton (February 11): Verbruggen, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Gross, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Welbeck, Mitoma.