Liverpool team vs Bournemouth predicted as Cody Gakpo decision made before Federico Chiesa debut
Liverpool boss Arne Slot should save more wholesale changes to his starting XI for the game against West Ham United at Anfield next Wednesday, with the Premier League clash against Bournemouth being far more important.
But there are some big decisions for the Dutch head coach to make ahead of the match with the Cherries. The main one lies with the two left wing options: Cody Gakpo, who was excellent against AC Milan midweek, and Luis Diaz, who has impressed so far this season under the new regime.
Gakpo would have started against Nottingham Forest last weekend had he not been fatigued after being on international duty, Slot revealed earlier in the week. But with both players in form, there is a big call for Slot to make.
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Elsewhere, Diogo Jota is the favorite to start ahead of Darwin Nunez down the middle and Mohamed Salah is near-certain to be on the right-hand side. Federico Chiesa could make a Premier League matchday squad for the first time and might debut in the English top flight from the sidelines.
Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are likely to go again in the center, with Harvey Elliott injured. Curtis Jones is another option but he is likelier to start in the cup next midweek; the same can be said of Wataru Endo.
At the back, Andy Robertson should come back into the side after Kostas Tsimikas played in Italy while Jarell Quansah is an alternative to Ibrahima Konate alongside Virgil van Dijk. Trent Alexander-Arnold should be at right-back, but Alisson Becker is a major doubt with a muscle injury and therefore Caoimhin Kelleher is in line for a start.
Liverpool predicted team vs Bournemouth: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Gakpo. (Substitutes: Jaros, Gomez, Quansah, Bradley, Diaz, Jones, Nunez, Endo, Chiesa).