Liverpool will host Southampton at Anfield in the third round of the 2025/26 League Cup. Coach Slaughter stated at a press conference that the starting lineup will be rotated to allow the players to rest during their busy schedule.

In the earlier 5th round of the Premier League, Liverpool relied on goals from Gravenberch and Ekitik to beat Everton 2-1.

When talking about the squad for the English League Cup, Liverpool manager Slaughter said, "We will rotate, which is the same as we did in the English League Cup last season. We have too many games to play, and the players can indeed cope with it, but they also need some rest sometimes. We are often too focused on the game, and I am the most typical example, but don't forget that many players have to participate in two games for the national team."

"Even though they can do a lot, they need a break every now and then. When I say rest, I mean two days of rest, which is not much. So, tomorrow will be a different lineup."

As for whether Isaac, Giovanni Leoni and Mamdashvili, who have just joined the team, will get a chance to play, Slot said, "Yes, we can count them all, including Endo Wataru and several other players. These players all need games, and we are very happy that there is such a game this week. If there is no game, we may have to arrange a friendly match because they also need to maintain their condition through games so that they can be on the court at any time when we need them."

"We have used a lot of players in the past three games because we think we need to keep the intensity high in these three games, but not all of them have played. For those players who have not played, this is undoubtedly the best time to get game time."

It is worth mentioning that Liverpool successfully reached the final of the English League Cup last season, but unfortunately they lost to Newcastle 1-2 and missed the championship.

Sloter continued, "We advanced to the finals last season with this lineup. We will not take any competition lightly. We always want to win every championship we compete for. This is also a reflection of the strength of our lineup. We can still send out a very strong team, but we must also consider the long term."