Predicting Liverpool’s starting XI to face Leicester in the Carabao Cup

Liverpool enter the Carabao Cup this Wednesday evening by welcoming Leicester City to Anfield for the first time since the Foxes were relegated to the Championship last season.

The start of the 2023/24 season really couldn't have gone much better for the Reds. They are unbeaten in the Premier League and are currently sat in second place behind only Manchester City, have won their opening Europa League clash against LASK, and have been scoring goals for fun along the way.

READ MORE: Just how good has Liverpool's attack been this season?

After a extremely disappointing campaign last year, fans had every right to be hesitant going into this season.

However, six wins, one draw, and four boss midfield signings later, the mood amongst Liverpool supporters couldn't be much higher right now.

Jurgen Klopp will not only be feeling confident going into the Carabao Cup game against Leicester, but he will also be relieved that he has a full squad to pick from and very few injuries or suspensions to deal with.

Thiago Alcantara, Conor Bradley are the only names guaranteed to miss the game, with Trent Alexander-Arnold as the only doubt, but fans are quietly optimistic that the 24-year-old will soon be available now that the initial expected three-week absence is now complete.

READ MORE: Liverpool vs Leicester – Match Preview

With all that in mind, here's a look at how Liverpool could line up this Saturday.

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DEFENSIVE ROTATION

Mr Carabao Cup himself, Caoimhin Kelleher will surely start this fixture after his heroics in the competition in years gone by.

Alisson Becker is obviously Liverpool's number one, but to have someone with Kelleher's quality as a backup keeper is an incredible show of squad depth.

Due to question marks over whether Alexander-Arnold will fit enough in time for the mid-week clash, you'd have to assume that Joe Gomez will continue his run in the team at right-back – and fans certainly won't mind, given Liverpool's longest serving player's performances of late.

Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah could both start for Liverpool at centre-half. Konate is not long back from an injury and is still having his minutes in league games managed, while 20-year-old Quansah could make the domestic cups his own this season.

Joel Matip's immense performance against West Ham may mean he has played himself out of contention for this one and instead could be saved for another start against Spurs at the weekend.

Meanwhile, it is likely Kostas Tsimikas gets his second start of the season in order to keep Andy Robertson fit and ready for the tough weekend game.

CHANCES FOR THE FRINGE STARS

Even with Thiago unavailable, Liverpool have an absolute abundance of midfielders at Klopp's disposal, and plenty of young, hungry midfielders who will see the Carabao Cup as the route to a more permanent position in the starting XI.

Ryan Gravenberch has impressed in his limited showings since joining from Bayern Munich in the summer and might well be afforded a start after a positive cameo against West Ham.

As one of the club's only specialist defensive midfielders, Wataru Endo could be in line for the 'number six' role against Leicester and would give Gravenberch and whoever joins him the licence to attack without leaving the defence vulnerable to the counter.

As for the third position, Stefan Bajcetic will almost certainly be involved, but he could be an option from the bench.

Harvey Elliott is the most probable to start out of Liverpool's more attack-minded midfielders.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are clearly not negotiable when it comes to Liverpool's biggest games and will surely not be risked with the Tottenham game just around the corner.

18-year-old Bobby Clark, who was not involved in the Reds' Europa League opener could be involved in the squad too.

DOUBTS IN ATTACK

The attacking department is by far Liverpool's strongest asset this season, with all five of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz deserving of a starting spot.

However, for the most part, the Reds can only utilise three at any one time, and so far this season, Salah, Nuñez and Diaz have been performing to a level that makes it hard for anyone to disagree that they are the club's best front three when fully fit.

With that trio likely start against Tottenham on Saturday, they could well be restricted to bench duties on Wednesday.

Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo are likely to start, just as they did against LASK in the Europa League.

Joining them in attack will likely be the Scottish teenager Ben Doak. The 17-year-old may still be raw, but his potential is out of this world and he is taking the steps this season to solidify his position as an understudy for Salah in the early stages of Liverpool's cup competitions.

PREDICTED LIVERPOOL STARTING XI TO FACE WOLVES

(4-3-3): Caoimhin Kelleher; Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas; Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch; Ben Doak, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota