Arne Slot reveals whether Federico Chiesa is set to start for Liverpool against AC Milan

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Liverpool are back in action on Tuesday as they look to put Saturday’s disappointing defeat behind them.

The Reds were surprisingly beaten by Nottingham Forest at Anfield in a result which seriously dampened their positive start to the season.

Up to that point, Liverpool had tentatively looked liked title contenders during Arne Slot’s first season in charge.

However, the beating from Forest suggested that things are much more a work in progress at Anfield than initially thought.

Nevertheless, a Champions League trip to AC Milan could be the perfect tonic to get back on the right track. And according to Slot, he’s already made a big decision about his starting line-up.

Arne Slot makes Federico Chiesa decision

Against Forest, Slot decided to go with an unchanged team for the third straight match.

While that same side had been good enough to win all three of those games, the head coach will perhaps ultimately look back on that decision as a poor one.

With all eleven of the starting line-up away on international duty in the week prior, Slot could have chosen to mix things up a little more than he did.

One of those who remained at the AXA Training Centre throughout the international break was Federico Chiesa.

Some fans would have been hoping to see Chiesa in action for the first time on Saturday, but the Italian was instead left out of the matchday squad as he settles in at the club.

READ MORE: What Federico Chiesa was doing over the international break in Liverpool

With a return to his home country in line on Tuesday, there is another chance for Chiesa to make his Liverpool debut.

And although Slot admitted in his pre-match press conference that it would be a ‘big surprise’ if the 26-year-old started at San Siro, the Dutchman did concede that Chiesa could get his first minutes in a Liverpool shirt.

“He is with the team and since I said it is the first time he is here, it would be a big surprise if he starts tomorrow,” Slot said. “So I don’t think you should expect him to start but he will make some minutes if we need him.

“But the first time with us, I don’t expect him to start with us,” he added. “He’s had some training time and too early to play 90 minutes but hopefully some minutes in the upcoming fixtures.”

Who will play instead?

Liverpool’s front three had been in excellent form prior to Saturday’s defeat. Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have quickly established themselves as Slot’s go-to trio.

However, with all three being ineffective against Forest – and two more games to play this week – Slot really needs to go with some rotation against Milan.

We think that will see both Diaz and Jota drop out of the eleven for the first time this season.

With Chiesa seemingly very unlikely to begin the match, it’s likely that Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez get their first starts of the campaign. Salah is perhaps the most likely to go again in a competition which he loves.

As Chiesa watches on from the bench, the pressure is now on Liverpool’s forward line to start delivering once again. Failure to lift off could now see Fede swoop in and take their places.