Curtis Jones may be set for another FA cup moment as Liverpool travel to League One Shrewsbury Town. Manager Jurgen Klopp will field a much-changed 11 in this game.
Liverpool Looking to Avoid Banana Skin at Shrewsbury Town
Curtis Jones and Other Youngsters Should Play
There aren’t many certainties in life but, one thing is for sure – Klopp will make changes ahead of this game. He already confirmed this in his pre-match press conference.
“Yes. We will have a team with fresh legs, players coming back or who have come back from injury,” the German told reporters. “It makes sense to play them, they are pretty good. We want to go through. It’s a tough place to go, as it always is in cup competitions.”
It makes sense for him to do this. The Reds may have been scintillating in the past few weeks, but those games will not have come without a toll. Liverpool’s last game against Wolverhampton Wanderers was an example of how hard the team has to work in order to keep their winning run going.
With the first team getting a deserved breather, Liverpool’s youngsters will be given another chance to play.
And it’s not like they don’t deserve it. In the last round of the FA Cup, a young Liverpool bested a near full-strength Everton. Key to that victory was Curtis Jones.
It’s not often that an 18-year-old will stun the Kop and it’s even rarer that he’ll shock the world, but that’s what Jones did. Midway through the second half, the youngster picked up the ball and curled an incredible strike into the top corner. Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had no chance.
The Scouser has also impressed in the League Cup where he scored the winning penalty against Arsenal. It will be interesting to see if he can keep this form going.
But, all those previous games were at Anfield. This time, he’ll be expected to be able to perform away from home at a hostile ground with less than perfect playing conditions.
Other Hopefuls
Another youngster who is expected to play is Harvey Elliot. The former Fulham man has been hugely impressive in cup competitions. Despite only being 16-years-old, he has bested several more experienced defenders and will be looking for his first Liverpool goal.
Another player who could be looking to impress is Yasser Larouci. The left-back impressed in pre-season and could give Andy Robertson a well-deserved rest. This would be his debut.
In other player news, Klopp will play Fabinho as the Brazilian midfielder works his way back from injury. In addition, Takumi Minamino will probably play as he continues to find his form at Liverpool. The Japanese international made his full debut in Liverpool’s last game. However, he did not have much of an impact shown by the fact that he didn’t have a single shot on target in that game.
Klopp’s Last Hurdle
Liverpool’s season has been close to perfect, but historically Klopp has struggled in the FA Cup. Like iconic Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, the German has not found much success in this competition.
Liverpool have lost at this round since 2015 and, while Shankly did struggle in the FA Cup, he ended up winning it twice. Klopp may have such aspirations as well, but for now, he’ll be hoping to make it past the fourth round.
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