Arne Slot insists he will avoid resting all of his regular starters for Liverpool's FA Cup third-round tie against Barnsley on Monday (19:45 GMT). In October, Liverpool were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace in the after Slot named three teenagers in his starting XI and a further five among his substitutes, with no-one older than 21 on the bench. Last season, Slot made 10 changes from the side that swept Tottenham aside to reach the Carabao Cup final for Liverpool's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Plymouth Argyle a few days later, where they lost 1-0.
Arne Slot insists he will avoid resting all of his regular starters for Liverpool's FA Cup third-round tie against Barnsley on Monday (19:45 GMT).
In October, Liverpool were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace in the after Slot named three teenagers in his starting XI and a further five among his substitutes, with no-one older than 21 on the bench. They lost 3-0 at Anfield.
Last season, Slot made 10 changes from the side that swept Tottenham aside to reach the Carabao Cup final for Liverpool's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Plymouth Argyle a few days later, where they lost 1-0.
"I made the decision last season that some players needed to rest in the FA Cup because you can't play every player every single time," said Slot.
"We're not in the League Cup any more. The FA Cup is always very important for us but last season, when we were in all of the competitions, you have to make choices with the amount of players we have.
"I can guarantee that on Monday you will see all the players you saw [against Arsenal]. There may be some changes but they will be on the bench, so that will be different to last season against Plymouth."
Conor Bradley is expected to be sidelined after he left Emirates Stadium on crutches on Thursday, with Slot saying he "fears the worst".
However, he added there is a better chance of Hugo Ekitike returning for Monday after Liverpool's top scorer has missed the past two games with injury.
"I'm not 100% sure but we will do everything to have him available," said Slot.
The Liverpool boss also offered an insight into their treatment of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who has played a total of 225 minutes, by citing the example of 19-year-old Jayden Danns.
"[Danns] is not fit enough. He's one of the players who got a stress fracture because he was young and, from what I've been told, was a bit overtrained," said Slot.
"That's why we are so careful with Rio Ngumoha that it is two days a week off the pitch, if that's possible, so we don't have the same situation with him. But Jayden is definitely not available in the short term."
When Barnsley last came to Anfield in 2008, the Tykes knocked out Liverpool with a famous win on their way to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Category: General Sports
