The Reds are ready to take on the Hammers tonight in their first match of the EFL Cup. After the 3-0 win against Bournemouth, Liverpool will try to defend their title in the Carabao Cup which they won last season against Chelsea in the final. The match ended 1-0 on extra time from Virgil van Dijk header to make his win team the only trophy during Jurgen Klopp’s farewell season.
Tonight’s starting lineup will have major changes due to Arne Slot’s decision to give the other players who didn’t have the chance to show if they can be key to Liverpool’s success in his first year with the club.
As expected due to Alisson Becker’s injury, Caoimhin Kelleher will start in goal after his first amazing appearance against Bournemouth. In front of the Irish keeper will be Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah followed by the two full-backs, Kostas Tsimikas on the left side and Conor Bradley on the right side.
In the midfield, Wataru Endo who had a great performance last season, is expected to be back in the starting lineup close to Tyler Morton who was selected by Arne Slot to be part of the first team tonight. Alongside these two is expected to start Curtis Jones, who will be the key player to Liverpool’s attacking position.
Some great news for the fans is the approval by Arne Slot on Federico Chiesa’s first start since arriving at the club. The Dutch boss has already spoken to the media explaining why the Italian forward didn’t have more minutes until now, and the reason is that he wasn’t fully fit yet due to the missing matches of Juventus pre-season.
Chiesa will play in the right wing where he will try to make runs and send the ball to the opposition box. Darwin Nunez will cover the striker position after an outstanding goal he scored on the weekend, and in the left wing we have Cody Gakpo who is not having a lot of play time under Slot but has already shown his great form in the 3-1 win against AC Milan.
This is how Liverpool’s Starting XI could look like for the Carabao Cup match against West Ham: Caoimhin Kelleher, Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez & Federico Chiesa.
The game is set to kick off at 20:00 UK Time, at Anfield, Liverpool.
