Liverpool boss Arne Slot may be tempted to stick Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield.
The Reds are not quite down and out despite suffering a 2-0 loss in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, where Slot’s 3-5-2 shape at least prevented the holders from running away with the tie.
The Dutchman reverted to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 for Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Fulham, in which Jeremie Frimpong completed 69 minutes before coming off for Joe Gomez.
However, Slot has expressed concern over both Frimpong and Gomez’s workloads amid their susceptibility to injuries, so it would not be a shock to see both benched as Szoboszlai starts in defence.
Slot can afford to shift the Hungarian into a rearguard role thanks to the availability of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz, all of whom should occupy the central areas against Luis Enrique’s side.
Wirtz is an option on the left too, but after becoming Liverpool’s youngest-ever Premier League scorer at Anfield, Rio Ngumoha has done enough to justify a start alongside Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike up top.
Both Salah and Andrew Robertson could make their final Champions League appearances for Liverpool on Tuesday, but the latter is likely to lose out to Milos Kerkez for the left-back slot, while Giorgi Mamardashvili continues in goal with Alisson Becker sidelined.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Ngumoha; ekitike
> Click here to see how PSG could line up against Liverpool
