Arne Slot explains surprise Liverpool team selection with Luis Diaz benched vs Aston Villa
Arne Slot has explained his team selection for Liverpool's trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League with Dominik Szoboszlai likely to play on the left wing and Luis Diaz only on the bench.
Diaz dropping out for Curtis Jones, another alongside Szoboszlai who could play further forward, is the only change that Liverpool has made from the weekend's narrow win over Wolves. Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa are both among the substitutes at Villa Park but Slot has gone with an extra midfielder instead.
"It is more to do with what happened last week," Slot told TNT Sports. "Lucho played Saturday his third game [in a week] because I decided to play him against Plymouth because I knew Cody [Gakpo] was fit. But with Cody being out, Lucho had to play three games in seven days. And today again and Sunday again, and Wednesday again."
READ MORE: Arsene Wenger makes telling Liverpool and Arsenal title admission - 'It's simple'
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Liverpool travels to Manchester City at the weekend and then has a home game with Newcastle United. And Slot's update could suggest that Gakpo won't be back in time for the next couple of fixtures either.
There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Liverpool.com will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story as they happen.
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