11 months ago
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Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The kids will be alright.
With top spot in their UEFA Europa League group sewn up, Liverpool FC have the luxury of resting key players as the fixtures keep coming on fast.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker have all been left on Merseyside for the dead rubber tie against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Predictably, several under-21 players have made the trip to Belgium, with Marcelo Pitaluga, Fabian Mrozek, Tom Hill, Lewis Koumas, Kaide Gordon, Calum Scanlon, James McConnell, Ben Doak, Conor Bradley and Luke Chambers among the names hoping they’ll have a chance to impress tomorrow.
The kids will be led by senior members of the squad like Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo. However, Klopp has probably learnt his lesson from our previous meaningless European game in December 2020, when he fielded an in-form Diogo Jota against Midtjylland in the Champions League. That decision would cost the manager dearly, as Jota picked up an injury that would rule him out for three months, and the Reds’ season nearly descended into a free fall.
Hopefully, none of that stuff. Just a nice trot out for the kids and heartwarming scenes between the Mac Allisters, thank you very much.
