View: 89% Alexis Mac Allister should be rested – Liverpool predicted XI v Southampton
Arne Slot should rest Alexis Mac Allister when Liverpool travel to Southampton on Sunday.
The Reds lead at the top of the Premier League table could be cut to just two points with title rivals Manchester City hosting Tottenham on 23 November before they travel to the South Coast on 24 November.
However, the Merseyside outfit have two huge matches the week after when they host both Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola’s side, so we should expect to see some rotation in preparation for those fixtures.
Arne Slot to make several changes for Liverpool v Southampton
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Alisson Becker is expected to be fit for the contest but could be rested to ensure that he is at his best in the two heavyweight clashes immediately after so Caoimhin Kelleher could start.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off with a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on 9 November, so Conor Bradley, who shone for Northern Ireland on international duty winning 100% of his six duels and scoring a goal is expected to replace him. On the other flank, Andy Robertson should make a jubilant return from scoring a late winner on Scotland duty.
Virgil van Dijk is set to be assessed upon his return early from the Netherlands camp so he could be replaced by Jarell Quansah but Ibrahima Konate should start after captaining France in their win against Italy.
In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch will continue as the Reds’ anchor after coming off the bench in the final 20 minutes of the Netherlands’ draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dominik Szoboszlai should replace Alexis Mac Allister in the starting line-up after the Hungarian’s fantastic displays on international duty where he scored a last-gasp penalty to secure a draw, created seven chances, made nine passes into the final third, won 50 per cent of his eight ground duels attempted and made eight ball recoveries against Germany. [Fotmob]
Curtis Jones should keep his place in the line-up after his excellent run of form lately which continued in both matches for England when he scored a lovely flick and was named Man of the Match against Greece on his senior debut and followed that up with another great performance in the 5-0 win over Ireland.
Mohamed Salah is undroppable in his current form. The Egyptian winger has 20 goal contributions in 17 matches so far in all competitions this season, and his potential replacement, Federico Chiesa, is not back in team training yet.
Darwin Nunez is expected to lead the line despite a poor performance for Uruguay which led to his replacement at half-time after he had just 16 touches, one touch in the Brazil penalty area and one pass into the final third. [Fotmob]
Cody Gakpo will likely complete the front three after playing just 13 minutes for the Netherlands against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This will give Luis Diaz a rest after he played a full 90 minutes in both of Colombia’s matches during the break.
Liverpool should save Alexis Mac Allister for the heavyweight clashes
Arne Slot should not start Alexis Mac Allister against Southampton after he featured in both of Argentina’s World Cup Qualifiers during the international break.
The 25-year-old may only have played 64 minutes of the first match against Paraguay but he played over 90 minutes against Peru before he was substituted after staying down following a heavy tackle from Carlos Zambrano.
Mac Allister was up to his usual brilliance in the latter before he departed from the contest, he recorded an 89 per cent passing accuracy, only misplacing five of his 44 passes and 100 per cent of his two long balls were accurate. [Fotmob]
The Reds midfielder also had five touches in the opposition box, played five passes into the final third and had two shots.
Defensively, the former Brighton man won 75 per cent of his three ground duels, made four ball recoveries, one clearance and dribbled past zero times.
Regardless of the hard challenge he received in the closing moments, with two huge matches on the horizon, Arne Slot should not risk his midfield maestro against Southampton.
In other Liverpool news, a finance expert has shared how much the Reds have earned so far from their Champions League exploits this year.
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