Arne Slot drops hints for Liverpool starting lineup vs. Ipswich Town
The final Liverpool pre-season games with Sevilla and Las Palmas concluded on Sunday and they provided insight into what the LFC starting lineup can be against Ipswich Town in the PL opener.
Arne Slot’s arrival at the Merseyside has been quite fruitful. His arrival was announced by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp during his farewell ceremony.
Although the Dutchman’s first senior match against Preston North End in the behind-closed-doors friendly concluded in a 1-0 defeat, the pre-season for LFC has not at all been unsatisfactory.
Out of all the five pre-season friendly matches, the Reds have been unbeaten with four consecutive wins against Real Betis, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla.
The last friendly against Las Palmas ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw.
Sevilla And Las Palmas: Two Pre-Season Friendlies In A Day!
The first game of the weekend at Anfield against Sevilla was a delight for the fans with the 4-1 scoreline and showcased what Arne Slot’s Liverpool can deliver.
The starting lineup comprised Alisson at goal; Trent, Quansah, Van Dijk and Tsimikas as back four; a young midfield trio of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister; and the forward line of Salah, Jota and Diaz.
This pretty much looked like the Dutchman’s preferred first XI and they rightfully proved their worth.
Diogo Jota opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a picture-perfect left-footed volley to send Alexander-Arnold’s lofted cross into the top right corner.
Then Luis Diaz scored twice in the 39th and 46th minutes, his first goal was purely his own individual brilliance where he carried the ball from 30 yards away from the goal line and dodged one defender to find the top right corner, beating the goalkeeper.
Diaz’s second goal was a mere tap-in from Dominik Szoboszlai’s pass which came from a quick counter-attack.
Although Sevilla’s Peque scored, the match was already in the pockets of the hosts.
Youngster Trey Nyoni came in to replace Diaz in the 63rd minute and impressively scored a volley in the 67th minute to conclude the scoring for the match.
The second LFC match, which started only two hours after the first match ended, was rather disappointing in the behind-closed-door game as the second team captained by Andy Robertson drew the game 0-0 against Las Palmas.
The lineup of Kelleher between the sticks; Bradley, Phillips, Konate and Robertson at the back; Elliott, Endo and Jones in the middle of the park; and Doak, Nunez and Gakpo leading the lines, could not find the net to win the match.
Even though the Merseysiders had six shots on target out of 16 shots taken, the match ended goalless.
The only talking point from the match was the shot of Andrew Robertson that hit the woodwork which looked like it was going in.
Hints For Liverpool Starting Lineup Vs. Ipswich Town
So from the final two pre-season friendlies, the starting XI for the Ipswich match can be predicted.
The Liverpool goal will obviously be protected by none other than Alisson Becker. He has been the No. 1 for the club for quite a few seasons now and that is not changing anytime soon.
Reds’ backline will consist of Trent Alexander-Arnold as right-back, the centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, and Andy Robertson as left-back.
By the looks of the pre-season games, Slot will pick Ryan Gravenberch as the defensive midfielder, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister fulfilling the box-to-box roles.
The front trio will be Mohamed Salah as the right-winger, Diogo Jota as the striker and Luis Diaz as the left-winger.
Anfield Home predicts:
Probable Liverpool Starting Lineup Vs. Ipswich Town (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Diaz.
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