Four Liverpool stars pulled out of squad as journalist hints at Arne Slot’s Southampton plans

Liverpool look set to make several changes to their team for their EFL Cup quarter-final clash against Southampton on Wednesday. 

The Reds have made a fast start to life under Arne Slot as the Merseyside club sit top of both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Throughout this run of form, Slot has not made many changes to his starting 11, with his core group of stars playing often. Ryan Gravenberch, who has seriously impressed his boss, has featured in every Premier League and Champions League match for Liverpool this season, which could catch up on several stars later in the campaign.

The Reds travel to Tottenham this weekend in the Premier League and ahead of that clash in North London, Slot sees the EFL Cup game against Southampton as a chance to rest several of his big names and give minutes to Federico Chiesa.

The Dutch coach is expected to play a heavily changed line-up from the one that faced Fulham on Saturday and a new update from the Premier League club all but confirmed this.

Arne Slot to make several changes to his Liverpool team

Liverpool manager Arne Slot against Fulham. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Southampton, the Liverpool Echo’s Paul Gorst has reported that Trey Nyoni, Amara Nallo, Jayden Danns and James Norris were all removed from the Liverpool U21 squad that played Crystal Palace on Monday afternoon ahead of the seniors’ trip to Southampton on Wednesday.

The journalist states that this potentially means that all four are set to be involved in the EFL Cup quarter-final, which hints at Slot’s plans for the contest at St Mary’s Stadium.

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Given the form of the Saints and the fact that they sacked their manager on Sunday, this seems like the right opportunity to give some of Liverpool’s big names a rest ahead of the hectic festive period.

It may backfire on the Dutch coach, but it is a decision he needs to make, or else it could play a role further down the line.