One journalist has urged Jurgen Klopp to ring the changes for Liverpool’s FA Cup clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
The trip to the Emirates Stadium is the first of two domestic cup assignments for the Reds over the next week, with Fulham coming to Anfield for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night.
With the squad plagued by injuries to the likes of Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alcantara, and after a hectic period which saw us play nine matches in 30 days since the start of December, David Lynch feels that rotation is needed for the tie against the Gunners.
He shared his preferred starting XI for the Arsenal game on his YouTube channel, subsequently posting the video to X with the caption: “I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will want to throw the FA Cup this year but he surely has no choice but to make some big changes for Sunday.”
I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will want to throw the FA Cup this year but he surely has no choice but to make some big changes for Sunday.https://t.co/oPUNg00ER8
— David Lynch (@dmlynchlfc) January 4, 2024
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Lynch’s chosen starting XI – which can be viewed here – is a mixture of regular starters and rarely-seen youngsters, particularly in defence, where Klopp’s scope for choice is perhaps the narrowest of any other position.
If that’s to be the Liverpool team on Sunday, it’d show seven changes from the Newcastle game on New Year’s Day, with Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz the only players retained.
The Brazilian being selected over Caoimhin Kelleher for a cup clash may seem surprising, although the manager might wish to keep the latter as his starting goalkeeper for the other domestic knockout competition three days later.
The trip to north London could be the ideal opportunity for the likes of Conor Bradley and Owen Beck to prove their worth to Klopp and potentially play their way into contention for future games.
Even with Arsenal in the Premier League title hunt, Liverpool may have a heavily rotated line-up at the weekend, considering the lengthy injury list and the proximity of the Fulham game in the Carabao Cup.
Therefore, Lynch is right to call for plenty of changes for Sunday, with his predicted line-up seeing plenty of rotation but not exactly what you’d call weak either.
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