‘Will be selected’ – Arne Slot set to hand out Liverpool debut in midweek Carabao Cup clash | OneFootball

The Liverpool starting XI to face Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night is expected to have at least one debutant.

It’s the fourth of seven games in the space of 22 days for a Reds side who’ve fallen off the pace in the Premier League after losing their last four matches in the division, so Arne Slot is likely to shuffle the pack for what remains the lowest priority competition at this stage of the season.

There was an LFC debut in the previous round against Southampton last month for Giovanni Leoni, but sadly his night ended with a sickening ACL injury which has ruled him out for the foreseeable future.

Freddie Woodman set for Liverpool debut

Paul Gorst has been looking ahead to the Palace game for the Liverpool Echo, and as he analysed the Merseysiders’ potential starting XI for Wednesday, he immediately flagged a probable debut between the sticks.

He wrote: ‘Freddie Woodman will make his Reds debut in goal. With Alisson Becker sidelined with that hamstring issue, Giorgi Mamardashvili has been first choice in recent weeks, so Woodman, who joined in a low-key free transfer in the summer, will be selected to deputise on the night.’

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Woodman mightn’t be the only unfamiliar face in the Liverpool XI

Woodman may have seemed a surprising addition when Liverpool snapped him up on a free in June, but he provides a homegrown squad option who boasts the experience of 278 senior career appearances.

The 28-year-old has been on the bench for seven games already this season, including each of the last five in all competitions (Transfermarkt), and Slot probably won’t want to risk an injury to Mamardashvili while Alisson remains sidelined.

The Reds can’t afford to be too flippant about Wednesday night amid their current struggles – a win of any description would be most welcome after a dreadful month for the Premier League champions – although the scope for line-up experimentation in this domestic cup fixture is greater than in the subsequent top-flight/Champions League games against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

In a similar vein, the Liverpool head coach could also hand a rare senior appearance to Calvin Ramsay, whose last first-team outing for LFC came in the Carabao Cup against Derby three years ago. The 22-year-old was superb for the under-21 side in their thrashing of Everton on Sunday.

Neither he nor Woodman are realistically likely to play much of a role for Slot’s team this season, but if they’re selected to start against Palace in midweek, you can be sure that both will be striving to prove a point to the 47-year-old at a time when so many regular starters are playing nowhere near their best.