VVD
Konate (if he is still playing on pain killers)
Grav
Maca
Salah
Trent
I think the rest you can play though it depends who you play Saturday with Tsimikas and Robertson.
Hopefully Jones is ready for this or Bournemouth and then Jota and Gomez perhaps for the following week. Love Jota for the Derby but it’s unlikely, but I would say it’s dependent on those returns as well whether you risk Konate.
There’s a massive tension there since if you rest the first two, you either play Endō and Quansah at the back, which means no rest for Gravenberch, unless Morton is somehow trusted to play that role.
Maybe you do 45 each, I just feel it’s such a dead rubber that it’s worth the risk.
And I’ll say the same even if the draw goes against us as no one knows if it will be decent or not.
If you want to challenge on all 4 fronts you have to take the chances to rest. And that doesn’t happen in league games unless they turn out like yesterday and they very rarely do.
We’ve also lost one of those weeks rest during the playoffs when we play Everton.
I rarely call for mass changes but the excuse is here.
Slot must know that lot very well, so he’ll know what team to put out in order to get a result. The Bournemouth game will be tough, so he’ll surely have it in mind when chosing his players and making his in-game changes.
Fingers crossed for three further points and no injuries!
There is always a tension between rest and rhythm. The club will know what is best for players like Van Dijk, Gravenberch and Salah.
I suspect it will be a 45min rotation + rest in game job, as the game against Ipswich was probably little different in intensity from a training session anyway, and there isn’t a lot of meaningful work can be done by them at the AXA while everyone is away.
I would be starting them, on the preview that Elliott, Endo and Quansah are coming on around half time, and no silly/risky challenges.
As @mattyhurst points out, it’s a rather tight turnover between Wednesday evening (I presume they would fly back from Eindhoven that evening) and then having to go to Bournemouth on Saturday. It’d be interesting if Arne will rest at least a couple of the players with the most minutes completely.
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Salah and Diaz left out of PSV trip. Will remain on Merseyside ahead of Saturday’s league trip to Bournemouth.