Arne Slot Sends Message to Wataru Endo and Cody Gakpo as Liverpool ‘Confirm’ One Player Who Will Start

Arne Slot admits that it is challenging for him to break the news to Liverpool players when he has to leave them out of his starting line-up.

Since Slot took over as Liverpool’s manager in June, the team has performed exceptionally well. The transition from Jurgen Klopp to the Dutchman has exceeded expectations, with Liverpool currently sitting at the top of the Premier League standings.

Their Champions League journey began with a 3-1 victory against AC Milan last month, and they recently advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after a 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.

In the Premier League, Slot has mostly relied on a consistent starting eleven. So far, only 14 players have started games, leaving players like Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, and Wataru Endo playing more limited roles from the bench.

Liverpool are set to face Bologna in the Champions League tonight, and Slot is expected to field a strong line-up once again.

Key players such as Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are likely to retain their places, while Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott will miss the match due to injuries.

Slot acknowledges that he will once again have to inform some of his hard-working squad members that they will not be starting the match.

However, he admits that delivering such news is simply part of being involved in professional football. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Slot explained:

“You pick two now but I already think about Curtis Jones, about Kostas [Tsimikas], about Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and I forget a few.

“The question was why we can compete at the levels at the moment and it’s because we have a lot of quality. But also, we have a lot of players and that can help us.

“I’m very pleased to see every time we need a player, he shows up. But again, with the even tougher fixtures coming up, it’s something we have to prove.

“It’s not hard because they have quality but because they train and work really hard and are involved in the team process. That makes it hard then to sometimes make the decision to say:

“I choose these 11 and not the other ones’. Not because they don’t have quality because if they didn’t they wouldn’t play here. They all have quality and work real hard and make my life real difficult. It is hard to tell them they don’t play but it’s my job and part of their lives as well.

“You know if you’re going to join a top club then there’s competition and that’s what they’re used to. All of them are handling the situation really well and that’s why there is a lot of team cohesion and energy in the group. That’s the most important thing when it comes to competition.”

A player almost guaranteed to start is Alexis Mac Allister. The midfielder was also assigned pre-match media responsibilities at Anfield, often an indication that he will be in the starting lineup.

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