Arne Slot will be given his first experience of the oldest club knockout competition in the world when Liverpool entertain League Two side Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup third round on Saturday lunchtime. The Reds go into the game on the back of having failed to win in successive games for the first time under the head coach after a 1-0 League Cup semi-final first leg defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.

Liverpool are expected to make wholesale changes with a number of players likely to be handed a rare start in a busy January period.

And here the ECHO writers consider what Slot may do in terms of team selection for the clash.

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Paul Gorst

Accrington Stanley? Who are they!? Expect plenty of that sort of stuff over the weekend as Liverpool entertain the League Two side in the FA Cup.

Of course, the visit of a team struggling down the nether regions of the football pyramid offers the chance for Arne Slot to rest and rotate ahead of that crucial clash with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.

Having said that, there are one or two who could use the minutes and I am recalling Trent Alexander-Arnold and starting Ibrahima Konate at the back. All being well, the centre-back can play the first half to an hour before exiting for Wataru Endo to drop back alongside Jarell Quansah. Trey Nyoni can feature from there if everything goes to plan.

There's a start for Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa is named in the front three alongside Darwin Nunez and the wildcard pick of teenager winger Rio Ngumoha. The club have high hopes for him and he was on the bench for the recent Carabao Cup win over Southampton. Let's see what he's all about against the League Two outfit.

Tyler Morton can play if he has shaken off that knock he has been dealing with and Endo can provide some experience and know-how in the centre of the park.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Morton, Endo; Chiesa, Elliott, Ngumoha; Nunez.

Ian Doyle

The FA Cup is superior to the League Cup and anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. But there's no doubt Liverpool will choose the tie against lowly Accrington Stanley to rest a lot of players.

What, then, is Arne Slot to do? Having spoken about the difficulty of certain players returning from injury or not always involved to gain match sharpness, it might be a good idea to play, well, almost all of them.

That means Caoimhin Kelleher in goal, with Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas continuing at right-back and left-back respectively. Jarell Quansah is available to stay at centre-back and Ibrahima Konate can start alongside him.

In midfield, Wataru Endo can line up alongside the fit-again Dominik Szoboszlai at the base, with Harvey Elliott in as the number 10.

And up top, Federico Chiesa can make only a second Liverpool start on the right, with Darwin Nunez down the middle and Luis Diaz on the left.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Konate, Tsimikas; Endo, Szoboszlai; Chiesa, Elliott, Diaz; Nunez.

Theo Squires

With one eye on that top of the table clash away at Nottingham Forest next week, I’d be making pretty much wholesale changes against Accrington Stanley. But that doesn’t mean Liverpool can take the League Two side for granted.

Trent Alexander-Arnold captains the side with Ibrahima Konate starting at centre-back, though let’s keep their outings to nothing more than an hour, please! Arne Slot says Jarell Quansah is available after illness so he can keep his place with Kostas Tsimikas making up the back four. Caoimhin Kelleher starts in goal.

I was tempted to put Wataru Endo at centre-back and rest Konate, but he can start in his favoured midfield position as Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones both get well-earned rests. Trey Nyoni can partner the Japanese, with Dominik Szoboszlai held back on the bench with one eye on Forest after overcoming illness.

Federico Chiesa gets a long-awaited start on the right, while Harvey Elliott can start in his favoured number 10 position. And both Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez can complete the attack, with the Portuguese initially stationed on the left.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Konate, Tsimikas; Endo, Nyoni; Chiesa, Elliott, Jota; Nunez.