Sports Mole looks at how Liverpool could line up for Thursday’s pre-season clash with Arsenal.
Arne Slot could opt to give Diogo Jota his first minutes in Liverpool‘s pre-season when the Reds take on Arsenal at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday morning.
The forward has missed the first two matches against Preston North End and Arsenal due to his involvement with Portugal at Euro 2024, which saw them make a quarter-final exit, but Jota has rejoined the group in recent days and could play from the start.
Meanwhile, 13 other players have yet to return to the squad following their involvement in the 2024 Euro or Copa America, with only Andrew Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Vitezslav Jaros as the only ones to rejoin the side so far, along with Jota.
Curtis Jones was forced off with an injury in the 30th minute of their victory against Betis, and while the severity is currently unknown, the midfielder is unlikely to feature on Thursday.
Ben Doak and Trey Nyoni have impressed in their appearances in pre-season so far, but the pair are a doubt for this one with Slot aiming to manage the load on the youngsters.
Slot’s defensive options are extremely limited due to multiple of their regular starters remaining on holiday following this summer’s international tournaments, meaning Liverpool are likely to name a weakened defence consisting of Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Sepp Van den Berg and Konstantinos Tsimikas.
A number of Slot’s star players will be available for their matchup against the Gunners though, with Mohamed Salah and Szoboszlai likely to start in the attacking four.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Van den Berg, Tsimikas; Endo, Morton; Salah, Szoboszlai, Elliott; Jota
> Click here to see how Arsenal could line up for this fixture
No Data Analysis info