The Carabao Cup game will provide Jurgen Klopp to rest a few of the big stars and provide a chance to some of the fringe players. While the likes of Marko Grujic and Danny Ward will get to start, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the one big name that everyone wants to see start for us.
There is also a chance for us to see another player make his first start of this season, Danny Ings. The Englishman has had a torrid time when it comes to injuries under Klopp but he is now fit enough to play and could make an appearance as a sub or more.
The Liverpool Echo reports that the 25-year-old was pulled out from the U23 clash against West Ham United on Monday and he could be play in the clash against Leicester City.
Ings had picked up a niggle in the U23 match against Manchester City but if he is to return, it will provide us with a lot of attacking options, especially given that Daniel Sturridge has not hit form this season.
While Ings could be the perfect player for our playing style, there was an update from the German on two of our other long-term absentees.
Clyne and Lallana Are Progressing Well
Nathaniel Clyne has been a surprising omission from our side since the start of the season. We are still unsure about the back problem he has been facing but the former Southampton man has not played a minute for us. While Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez have been doing alright, Clyne’s experience at the back has been a big miss for us.
Klopp however stated that the English right-back was making steady progress but that he still had a long way to go.
“Clyney had the third or fourth run outside yesterday, not the highest intensity but a big step and he coped well so far with this,” Klopp was quoted by Liverpool’s official site.
The German also gave an update on Lallana, another player who would provide us not only with cover for our attack but also provide that link up play from midfield, which has been missing.
“Adam is close to going outside and running. For the next step, I’ll give you another update in the next press conference!”
The league cup will be the best way to track the performances of some of our squad players but it will also give us a chance to see just how some of our stars will play and hopefully we can make it to the final once again, just like last season.
