No Salah & Chiesa question ANSWERED - predicted Liverpool lineup vs West Ham

Liverpool welcome a struggling West Ham United to Anfield on Wednesday night in the Third Round of the League Cup. The second of three-straight midweek games for the Reds means that there will be ample opportunity for Arne Slot to give minutes to players who haven’t seen the pitch that often this season so far.

The holders obviously won’t want to give up their trophy, though, and any silverware in Slot’s first season at the helm will surely be seen as success for him. So who will he put in his starting lineup against the Hammers?

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Goalkeeper - Caoimhin Kelleher

With the Irish shot-stopper’s discontent at the club well documented, he would probably have been pencilled in for this fixture regardless. It helps that he deputised as well as ever for an injured Alisson at the weekend, registering six saves on his way to a clean sheet. Alisson’s status is unknown but his stint on the sidelines isn’t expected to be too lengthy, meaning risking him in this game won’t be necessary.

Right-Back - Conor Bradley

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been on fire this season so far and the vice-captain registered assists in both of last week’s fixtures. This will be a rare opportunity to rest the Scouser, and Arne Slot has shown his trust in Conor Bradley to lighten Trent’s load, handing him cameos in the opening four games of the season.

Centre-Back - Joe Gomez

Appearances have been few and far between for Joe Gomez recently, which is why a full deputisation could be expected here. Ibrahima Konaté has been exceptional so far this season, getting a goal and an assist last week and leading the league in percentage of aerial duels won. As such, we are anticipating him to have reached essential status and thus be rotated. Jarrell Quansah would also be an option here but Arne Slot’s trust in him is still up in the air following his half-time substitution on the opening day.

Centre-Back - Virgil van Dijk

Van Dijk has been exceptional as ever so far this season with discussion of his future at the club looming ever-present. Whilst this game is an opportunity to rotate, it is still a fixture against a Premier League side, so we expect Arne Slot to maintain a core spine of players to see the Reds through to the next round.

Left-Back - Andy Robertson

Speaking of core spine of players, we are expecting Andy Robertson to keep his place in a shifted lineup. Robbo got a full rest in Milan last week, and Arne Slot was left rueing his decision, as deputy Kostas Tsimikas vacated his space for Milan’s opening goal and missed the target with multiple shots thereafter.

Defensive Midfield - Ryan Gravenberch

The Dutchman’s form is only getting better and better with each appearance. With the system of pressing that Arne Slot is wanting to implement, we are unsure if there is any other player in the squad right now who can aptly replicate what Ryan Gravenberch does on either side of the halfway line. Because of this, he might be a mainstay in Liverpool XI’s this season.

Centre Midfield - Curtis Jones

Jones did himself proud in his first appearance back from injury at the weekend, winning 100% of duels and completing 100% of passes in the half-hour he was on the pitch. Because of this, we are expecting Arne Slot to trust him to start this game over Alexis Mac Allister as it seems like a rare opportunity to rest the Argentinian. 

Attacking Midfield - Dominik Szoboszlai 

Whilst he has nothing to be ashamed of in his performances so far this season, Dominik Szoboszlai hasn’t seen too many returns so far. A late counter-attacking goal to cement the 3-1 victory over Milan in the Champions League will be welcome, but this game could be a freer moment for the Hungarian to really bed himself into the attacking midfield role.

Right Forward - Federico Chiesa

Here he is! After finally making his debut at Anfield on Saturday - a 19-minute cameo already 3-0 up - we are expecting Liverpool’s newest Italian to find a full debut on Wednesday night. Regular right-sider Mo Salah could probably play every minute of every game if he really needed to, but opportunities to rest him should be taken when they can. Every Red will be excited to see what the new boy can do.

Left Forward - Luis Diaz

Arguably Liverpool’s best performer this season - and certainly their top scorer so far - Luis Diaz has been unplayable in Red. Two more goals against Bournemouth on Saturday took his tally to five for the season, and if Arne Slot does hand a debut to Chiesa as predicted above, retaining his in-form attacker would be a good way to counter any potential pitch-rust that the new signing might have.

Striker - Darwin Nuñez

Struggling for minutes and struggling for form, Darwin Nuñez won’t have been the only person to shed a tear when his spectacular curling effort found the inside of the post and the back of the net for Liverpool’s third goal at the weekend. In a game where rotation can be afforded, we expect Arne Slot to trust Nuñez to ride the goalscoring wave before returning to Diogo Jota when he can.