Predicting the Starting XI ahead of West Ham Quarter-Final

December 19, 2023

League Cup Quarter-Final

Liverpool host West Ham United on Wednesday night, in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup and will be looking to bounce back from a frustrating 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

The Reds lifted the trophy in 2022 under Jurgen Klopp and I’m sure that the German will have his eyes on the prize once again.

However, with a crucial Premier League game against Arsenal on Saturday, Klopp may be forced to making a few tweaks to his starting lineup.

Today we’re going to be predicting Liverpool’s Starting XI against West Ham United, as well as who could be in for a well-deserved rest.

An in-form defence:

With the Hammers posing multiple attacking threats, such as Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a fairly strong back four.

Alisson Becker should continue in between the sticks, with Caoimhin Kelleher putting in a run of shaky performances in his absence.

Based on Klopp’s selection against Union SG in the Europa League last week, I’d be surprised to see Ibou Konate start this one.

Jarrell Quansah could be a potential replacement for Konate at the heart of the defence alongside Virgil Van Dijk, after impressing so far this season.

Joe Gomez is another player who is almost nailed on to start this one, but I think he could be utilised at full-back to rest either Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kostas Tsimikas.

I would be leaning slightly more towards playing Gomez at right-back, ensuring that Trent is fully fit for the Arsenal game.

Verdict- Alisson, Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas

The midfield dilemma:

With injuries to Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic, Klopp’s options in midfield are starting to look quite bare.

Harvey Elliott is pretty much nailed on to partner Curtis Jones in the midfield, but the duo will need to put in a much improved performance compared to last week’s against Union SG.

Frustratingly, Wataru Endo will likely be forced to go again at the base of the midfield, despite playing a huge amount of football in the past few days.

This would give Dominik Szoboszlai a much needed rest, based on his really poor performance against Manchester United at the weekend.

Verdict: Endo, Elliott, Jones

Out-of-form Forwards:

With Diogo Jota injured, Klopp has the choice of just four senior forwards to pick from ahead of Wednesday’s game.

After being substituted reasonably early against Arsenal, Luis Diaz will likely start again on the left-hand side against the Hammers.

Mohamed Salah will be looking to get himself back on the scoresheet as he will likely start on the opposite flank, although Ben Doak could also be in contention for that spot.

Down the middle, Klopp has the choice of either Cody Gakpo or Darwin Nunez.

With the Uruguayan now not scoring in his last ten games, Cody Gakpo will surely get the nod for this one after sitting out of the weekend’s fixture.

Looking a bit further down the line, I would also have Gakpo start against Arsenal on Saturday so a good performance from the Dutchman could nail down a place for himself.