Arne Slot has clarified his decision to start Curtis Jones among four changes to his side against Crystal Palace, addressing concerns over Dominik Szoboszlai’s fatigue.
Liverpool will take the field at Selhurst Park with four alterations from the team that secured a 2-0 victory over Bologna in the Champions League earlier this week.
Szoboszlai, Darwin Núñez, Andy Robertson, and Luis Díaz have all been replaced, with Jones, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas, and Cody Gakpo stepping in.
Apart from Jota coming in for Núñez, this lineup reflects Slot’s strategy to rotate players as he manages his squad during a demanding stretch of fixtures – the last of seven matches in just 22 days.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of kickoff, the head coach elaborated on his team selection, particularly his choice to start Curtis Jones.
“If I ask the players if they are fatigued, they’ll always tell me no,” he said.
“We’ve played a lot of games and Cody has done really well, Kostas has done really well and Curtis every time when he comes in did well.
“So it’s a good moment for Curtis to start also, because he’s not going to go [away] for international games, so it’s good for him to have a game as well.
“He’s done very good when he came in and Dom is putting so, so, so much effort in his pressing that you wonder if he can continue doing it every three days.
“It’s also good for us to have more than only three midfielders, so let’s see today how Curtis is doing.
“And Cody and Kostas speaks for itself, I think they’ve done very good every time they’ve played.”
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Gakpo.
Subs: Jaros, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Robertson, Quansah, Bradley.
Caoimhin Kelleher is absent from the matchday squad due to illness.
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