Diogo Jota axed, six changes – Liverpool predicted XI v Arsenal
Arne Slot’s side fell to their third Premier League defeat of the season against Chelsea on Sunday, with a 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge.
With the Reds having now got their hands on the Premier League title, Slot made several changes to his starting line-up to take on Chelsea, rotating to give others a chance for game time.
However, with a visit from Arsenal on Sunday (11 May), the Dutchman could well be ready to strengthen his side once more against the closest Premier League rivals this term.
Although the Merseyside outfit secured the title with some ease this term, there have been suggestions that the failure of Arsenal has played a part rather than Liverpool necessarily being dominant.
This does give motivation for next season already, but Slot could well be eager to get a victory against Mikel Arteta to make an early statement that Liverpool will be the side to beat once more.
Jarell Quansah to be axed by Slot
Alisson Becker is likely to retain his position between the sticks for Liverpool in the game against Arsenal, where he has been comfortable this term.
Trent Alexander-Arnold may have caused some anger for some Reds supporters after confirming he is leaving Anfield at the end of the season, but Liverpool can enjoy his quality until the end of the campaign.
He could well join Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson in the defensive line.
Robertson would be taking the place of Konstantinos Tsimikas, while Konate replaces Jarell Quansah.
Quansah had a disastrous game against Chelsea, scoring an own goal and committing the foul that led to a Blues penalty.
Having also lost four of his six duels on the afternoon, it would not be surprising to see Slot drop him for this game, with a win needed to rub salt into the wound.
Diogo Jota axed after disappointing performance against Chelsea
The boss may well make further changes up the pitch, starting with Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister coming into the side to replace Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones.
Mohamed Salah has been in firing form this season and, unsurprisingly, is likely to retain his place in the side with Cody Gakpo on the other side.
With Salah having extended his stay on Merseyside, the Egyptian may well be keen to show Arsenal he is still to be feared going ahead.
However, Dominik Szoboszlai could take the place of Harvey Elliott in the middle of the park.
Finally, Luis Diaz could replace Diogo Jota after a disappointing performance against Chelsea last week.
| Jota v Chelsea | |
| Minutes played | 58 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Touches | 13 |
| Duels won | 3 |
| Duels lost | 6 |
Jota played for 58 minutes before being hooked in London, failing to register a single shot on target.
The forward had just 13 touches of the ball and no successful dribbles, while also losing the majority of his duels, meaning the boss will surely be keen to have a stronger figure at the top.
A massive win is needed to follow the guard of honour that is coming.