1 day Ago By [email protected] (Paul Wheelock)
A look at the changes Liverpool head coach Arne Slot could make for Saturday's Premier League clash with Bournemouth at Anfield Liverpool are back on track. Having gone down to a shock 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, the Reds returned to winning ways in style on Tuesday night. Initially, it appeared the hangover to losing to Forest had continued when former Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic fired AC Milan into a third-minute lead in the Champions League opener at the San Siro.
But Liverpool responded impressively and goals from Ibrahima Konate , Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai earned them a fully deserved 3-1 win . It's a win that sets the Reds up nicely for this Saturday's home match with Bournemouth (3pm). Arne Slot 's side will be big favourites to record a victory that could take them first in the Premier League given current leaders Manchester City do not play until Sunday when they host Arsenal in a top-of-the-table, early-season showdown.
But how will Liverpool boss Slot line-up against the Cherries? For the first time in his Reds reign, the Dutchman made more than one change to his starting XI for the clash with Milan. Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo came into the team at the expense of Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz . But while Gakpo was Liverpool's best performer on the night , Tsimikas endured a mixed evening.
The left-back was at fault for Pulisic's opener but he recovered well after that and made amends by setting up the Virgil van Dijk goal that put the Reds in front. So will Tsimikas and Gakpo keep their places? And will there be changes elsewhere in the side? Sadly for the former, he appears set to lose his place to Robertson, who did not make it off the bench against Milan but was a visible presence of the sidelines . The rest of the back four - as it has been since half-time of the opening day win at Ipswich Town - picks itself with Alisson Becker in goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back and Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate , who headed Liverpool level on Tuesday, at centre-back.
For the likes of Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez , perhaps next Wednesday's Carabao Cup encounter at home to West Ham United represents the best chance to get their first starts of the campaign. The same could be said of a number of midfielders, too, given Ryan Gravenberch , Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai appear to have the three starting spots nailed down. All three were excellent against Milan with the latter opening his account for the season after a demand from Slot for more goals.
Up front it gets more interesting in terms of who starts and who does not. Luis Diaz has been one of the Reds' stand-out players in the early days of Slot's tenure but Gakpo would, quite rightly, feel aggrieved if he was left out against Bournemouth given his display on Tuesday evening. It's a problem for Slot, but one he will no doubt relish.
On the opposite flank, Mohamed Salah is a certain starter, but who will play down the middle? Diogo Jota has been given the nod for the first five games of the campaign but since his goal against Ipswich, he has been unable to find the net. So perhaps it is time for Darwin Nunez to be unleashed? And if not, could Slot solve a problem by playing Gakpo in the centre and restoring Diaz to the left? It's a good selection headache to have..
