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Arne Slot has explained his decision to start Curtis Jones among four changes to his side vs. Crystal Palace, amid concerns over fatigue for Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool line up at Selhurst Park with four alterations from the team that beat Bologna 2-0 in the Champions League in midweek.
Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez, Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz have all come out with Jones, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo brought in.
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Jota for Nunez aside, this serves as more rotation from Slot as he manages his squad through a busy period – this being the last of seven games in 22 days.
And speaking to TNT Sports ahead of kickoff, the head coach elaborated on his team selection and in particular his decision to start Jones.
“I can come up with so many things we can improve”
Despite an incredibly successful start to the season, Arne Slot knows there’s much more to work on for Liverpool ?
?@LynseyHipgrave1 pic.twitter.com/PuDs9ZABrk
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 5, 2024
“If I ask the players if they are fatigued, they’ll always tell me no,” he said.
“We’ve played a lot of games and Cody has done really well, Kostas has done really well and Curtis every time when he comes in did well.
“So it’s a good moment for Curtis to start also, because he’s not going to go [away] for international games, so it’s good for him to have a game as well.
“He’s done very good when he came in and Dom is putting so, so, so much effort in his pressing that you wonder if he can continue doing it every three days.
“It’s also good for us to have more than only three midfielders, so let’s see today how Curtis is doing.
“And Cody and Kostas speaks for itself, I think they’ve done very good every time they’ve played.”
Szoboszlai has played the fifth-most minutes of any Liverpool player so far this season, behind only Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch.
The Hungarian produced a tireless display against Bologna on Wednesday night, and with two UEFA Nations League clashes with the Netherlands and Bosnia & Herzegovina to come next week, Slot has opted not to risk any burnout for his No. 8.
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