Andoni Iraola has shared one piece of good news for Liverpool fans ahead of the Carabao Cup fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
The Reds will hope to make amends for the drab goalless draw at home to Fulham on Saturday by defeating another London opponent in their first domestic cup tie under the 44-year-old.
The Basque has already confirmed that Giorgi Mamardashvili will come to start in goal tomorrow night, and one of several other likely line-up changes could potentially see Joe Gomez making his first appearance of the season.
Liverpool’s longest-serving player has been sidelined since incurring a muscle injury against Sunderland in pre-season, but Iraola told reporters at today’s pre-match press conference that the defender could be involved against Spurs.
The Reds’ head coach said (via Liverpool Echo): “Joe is training with the team and is available for tomorrow. It’s a matter of deciding how much he can play.”
Iraola will no doubt want the luxury of being able to rest as many of his first-team regulars as possible, and having Gomez available increases the likelihood of him being able to give Virgil van Dijk the night off.
It remains to be seen whether the 29-year-old will be fit enough to start against Spurs or whether he might have to be content with minutes off the bench, given that he’s been out of action since late July, but any bit of game-time at all tomorrow night would be a significant step forward.
The upcoming international window will also give the Reds’ long-serving number 2 more time on the training ground to hopefully be in prime condition once the club season resumes in October, keeping him ticking over while several of his fellow defenders jet off to represent their countries.
Ideally Gomez will be able to start so that Van Dijk will get a welcome rest and Liverpool will still have a highly experienced presence in their backline. As one of Iraola’s new vice-captains, the Londoner might even have the armband for tomorrow, should he come into the first XI.
We fully expect to see him in the team sheet against Spurs – the question will be whether it’s as a starter or a substitute.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
first half Joe Gomez left back and Bro Endo number 6 , team balance , believe you me. Sbo number 10 , rest Florian .
It will be a weakened team, the question is will it be good enough against spurs.
Remember what happened last season against palace in the league cup.
Make changes yes, but pick a team and a bench to get through the tie.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
