Liverpool have revealed a heavily rotated starting XI for today’s high-stakes Super Sunday encounter with Tottenham.
Five changes in total have been made by Arne Slot, who will want to see his team immediately exorcise their Galatasaray-based demons with a convincing win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
Anfield has been a fortress as of late for the top-four-chasing outfit, with eight home wins picked up this season in Premier League action, and with Spurs entering this clash with six defeats on the spin, the script would suggest that Liverpool will be victorious.
Nothing is guaranteed in the turbulent Premier League, though, with lots of talking points to be had when assessing the line-up in more detail.
Alisson returns in goal
The talk coming into the contest today was that Alisson could miss out through injury once more, after he sat out that mid-week Champions League tie in Turkey.
He is launched back into the starting XI today, to the shock of many, as the Brazilian stopper aims to impress, after penning a new contract leading into this showdown with Igor Tudor’s relegation-threatened visitors.
With an impressive eight clean sheets already under his belt this season in the Premier League, the aim will be to make that total nine, come full-time.
Wirtz maintains his starting spot
Alongside Alisson’s shock inclusion, Liverpool fans reading the lineup, before filtering into Anfield, might have been surprised to see Florian Wirtz included against Spurs.
Wirtz suffered from a notable off-performance at RAMS Park, as several opportunities fell to him that weren’t converted.
He has been trusted from the start again, as he prepares to line up alongside Cody Gakpo as his main striker teammate.
With eight assists next to his name this season, the Dutch attacker will be licking his lips at the prospect of beating a shaky Guglielmo Vicario, having Wirtz supplying him with chances.
Salah and Ekitike drop out
With Gakpo the preferred option up top, one of the five alterations means Hugo Ekitike has dropped out of the starting XI, after a goalless showing in the Champions League.
It’s a huge chance for the Eindhoven-born attacker, with the Frenchman no doubt gutted that he only has a space on the bench for the match.
Wasting many chances in Turkey likely hadn’t helped his chances, with Mohamed Salah also dropping out as another regular starting face under Slot.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast, so there is no harm on Slot’s end in freshening things up, as Rio Nguhoma is finally handed his big chance in the Premier League, ahead of the Egyptian.
Van Dijk remains everpresent
With both Ekitike and Salah exiting the first team frame, at least Virgil Van Dijk remaining put showcases the strength of Slot’s core still.
Amazingly, Van Dijk has been an ever-present force to be reckoned with this season, even at the grand age of 34. He isn’t slowing down, though, as he remains central to his manager’s plans defensively.
Off the back of another start, the Dutch colossus is now the oldest outfield player to start 30-plus consecutive games for the Reds since Ian Callaghan in 1977, who started a staggering 93 in a row.
Nguhoma enters into history books
Lastly, the change that will excite the Anfield masses the most is 17-year-old Nguhoma being thrown in from the start.
With Spurs just fresh off conceding 5 goals away at Atletico Madrid, the hope will be that the teenage starlet can cause the uneasy North Londoners all sorts of bother defensively.
Nguhoma’s patient attitude has finally been rewarded, with the lightning-quick number 73 actually entering into the Liverpool history books with his start today, having now become the fifth-youngest-ever top-flight starter with the Reds.
It would be a dream day out for the much-talked-about youngster if he capped it off with a superbly taken goal, as Liverpool confidently dispatch of their lowly opponents.
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