Liverpool play host to Galatasaray in the second of two Champions League last-16 ties on Wednesday, and Arne Slot is expected to make several changes from the XI that drew with Tottenham Hotspur.
Defeat on Wednesday could spell the end of Arne Slot as Reds manager, it has been suggested this week.
The Champions League is the only way Slot can salvage this season, but even though he’s been in top form in recent weeks, we still expect to see Rio Ngumoha benched and Mohamed Salah, who has been dubbed a ‘genius’ this year, called back into the side.
Is the famous Anfield atmosphere for European ties finally dead? ☠️
Our recent record does not bode well for turning things around against Galatasaray…
Mohamed Salah to start and Rio Ngumoha benched vs Galatasaray
Ngumoha excelled during his 64 minutes on the pitch against Tottenham this past Sunday.
However, despite the 17-year-old creating the joint-most chances of any Liverpool player in one league game this season (seven), we know Slot doesn’t want to start the winger too often, already suggesting he’d only feature from the off in one of three games within a six-day period (Spurs being the first).
In turn, likely to the dismay of the Reds faithful, it will probably be much of the same against Galatasaray at Anfield.
Hugo Ekitike and Salah were both given a bit of a rest on Sunday, and with Liverpool playing again on Saturday afternoon, it’s expected this match, which is the biggest of the three, will see the manager call on his most trusted options.
That will be the case in midfield as well, with Florian Wirtz acting as the 10 ahead of the usual pairing of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Further back, while there have been calls for Andy Robertson to play more in 2025/26, he started ahead of Milos Kerkez versus Tottenham, so the Hungarian will likely be used against Galatasaray.
Similarly, we saw Joe Gomez given a very rare start at centre-back a few days ago, but the tried and tested pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate will be selected for the must-win fixture.
Finally, while he isn’t a right-back, Dominik Szoboszlai will start ahead of Jeremie Frimpong in the back-four.
Is this the best Liverpool XI to beat Galatasaray? No, and fans would not doubt much rather have Ngumoha starting ahead of Gakpo.
But based on how Slot operates and the team he used against Spurs, it’s the most likely side we will see take to the field.
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