The following week is set to be huge in the season of Liverpool Football Club.
The Reds host Southampton on Saturday at Anfield as Arne Slot’s men look to maintain their 13-point gap over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
Tuesday sees Paris Saint-Germain arrive on Merseyside with the Ligue 1 leaders looking to overturn the 1-0 deficit in their Champions League Last 16 tie with the Reds.
Both of these arrive before the Carabao Cup final next Sunday, where Liverpool take on an injury-hit Newcastle side for the first trophy on offer this season.
Slot is aware of complacency creeping into his squad for the match with Southampton, but Steve Nicol is not buying the Dutch coach’s comments about the Saints clash.
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Steve Nicol wants Liverpool to make three changes vs Southampton
Speaking to the press on Friday ahead of Liverpool’s match with Southampton, Slot kept mentioning that the Merseyside club have ‘three finals’ this week.
Nicol was not buying into this phrase from the Liverpool boss and has stated on ESPN FC that the Reds should make changes against Southampton in order to be fresh for PSG and Newcastle.
“I don’t know about that,” Nicol said when asked if Liverpool have three finals ahead of them. “I know what he is trying to say, but I don’t know who he is kidding. This is the perfect opportunity to try and give a couple of players a break, and I expect him to do it.
“I expect Nunez to start. I think Endo might start. Gravenberch looks like he could do with just sitting down for a little bit before PSG. I think Tsimikas will start, so there are three changes, I think he will make. He talked a good game there, but he’s not kidding anyone.”
Slot is predicted to make four changes to his Liverpool starting 11 on Saturday in preparation for next week as the Dutch coach is not a fan of making several for Premier League games.
There are many players in the Reds squad who will need their minutes managed throughout the remainder of the campaign, none more so than Ryan Gravenberch.
Arne Slot needs to keep Ryan Gravenberch fresh at Liverpool
Gravenberch has been one of Slot’s biggest success stories at Liverpool this season as the Dutch star has thrived in the number six role at Anfield.
Liverpool attempted to bring Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi to Merseyside last summer and the Euro 2024 winner’s rejection of the Reds has been a blessing in disguise.
However, Slot may be relying on Gravenberch too much as the midfielder has played third most minutes this season in the entire squad with 3241, with only Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah playing more.
| Player | Games | Minutes |
| Virgil van Dijk | 38 | 3417 |
| Mohamed Salah | 40 | 3396 |
| Ryan Gravenberch | 38 | 3241 |
| Alexis Mac Allister | 39 | 2879 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 37 | 2707 |
Nicol is right in saying that Gravenberch needs a rest as the 22-year-old hasn’t been at the level he was at earlier in the season.
The Dutch star has been fine, however, Slot could get more out of the Dutch star over the coming weeks should he give the player a break against Southampton on Saturday.