Liverpool have secured their place in the Champions League round of 16, and resting as many first-team players as possible on Wednesday against PSV Eindhoven would be wise, Reds expert David Lynch has claimed.
The Merseysiders' 2-1 victory against Lille on January 21 meant that Arne Slot's side are guaranteed to finish in the top two of the Champions League table and qualify automatically for the next round of the tournament.
If Liverpool draw on Wednesday against PSV they will claim top spot, but a win is by no means certain given Slot left out several stars from his travelling squad, including Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Virgil van Dijk.
Cody Gakpo has travelled to the Netherlands, but Lynch was not keen on allowing the Dutchman to play from the start against his former club, telling Sports Mole: "This is one where Liverpool really need to mix it up in terms of the team and in terms of the travelling party.
"The manager's got options - Gakpo's come to that point now where he's so important. He's one of the first names on the team sheet, and you're thinking ahead to the weekend. 'I want him to be at his absolute best. I want him to be on the pitch for 90 minutes there'. That's absolutely crucial.
"The manager's priority has got to be the weekend rather than what's going on against PSV. Giving a start to Gakpo - in a game that will have a lot of emotional resonance for him - [is not a priority] in terms of the actual importance to Liverpool's season.
Liverpool are set to play Bournemouth on Saturday in the Premier League, and given the Cherries have already beaten Arsenal, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City this season, ensuring that as many key players are rested for the clash as possible would be sensible.
What team will Arne Slot select?
Slot has taken a number of younger talents with him to face PSV such as Tyler Morton, Trey Nyoni and Jayden Danns, who have only made a combined 10 appearances this season for the first team across all competitions.
The Reds boss has taken with him senior attacking players like Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa, and he may have to rely on his forwards to win the game considering Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk will play no part on Wednesday.
Lynch explained that changes to the regular Liverpool XI should not be seen as particularly surprising as there is fundamentally no difference between finishing first or second, telling Sports Mole: "There's basically no difference between finishing top and finishing second. There's a small amount of money, but nothing to write home about.
"There's a couple of big candidates not even travelling, which is not just Salah, but Van Dijk and Gravenberch. They're the top three for minutes played this season.
"[Slot] can almost treat this like a League Cup game and not get [stars] involved at all. I would like to see that because I think the squad depth is there. Liverpool haven't got too many injuries, and I think the capability to do that is there. I'd like to see the manager [make changes], particularly as there's a big few games coming up."
Having qualified in the top two of the league phase, Liverpool have ensured that the second leg of their round of 16 clash will be played at Anfield.
© Imago
How Slot's changes could benefit Liverpool in the remainder of the season
Slot has so far shown a reluctance to rotate his XI in the Premier League, with eight outfield players having featured in at least 20 of Liverpool's 22 Premier League games this term.
However, the Reds have still had key players miss matches in 2024-25, and given that the Merseysiders are still in four competitions, providing fringe players with minutes on Wednesday could help keep the squad fresh for important games in the future should they be needed.
Lynch shared the same sentiment, and when asked by Sports Mole about the importance of rotating the squad, he said: "These [matches] are beneficial for using the squad in terms of keeping people happy, but keeping them in rhythm as well.
"The likes of Endo - [Slot] is going to need him from time to time, but can you give him game time that means he's happy with his role? Chiesa - everybody's desperate to see him start and see what he can do.
"Who needs the rest? Who does [Slot] want 100 percent? There's a lot of midfielders there that you'll want to do some rotating around as well, because you'll want them to be full of energy for the weekend."
Given that Liverpool are favourites for the Premier League title, only face a one-goal deficit against Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final and face second-tier side Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup, getting players like Wataru Endo enough minutes could be key to going far on all fronts.
Lewis Nolan
