Facing Plymouth Argyle, Waiting for Real Impact of Liverpool's Substitute Players

PLYMOUTH, SATURDAY — A match between two teams with a massive quality disparity will take place at Home Park Stadium when Plymouth Argyle hosts Liverpool on Sunday (2/9/2025) at 22:00 WIB. This situation provides an opportunity for Liverpool Coach Arne Slot to rest the majority of the main players.

Plymouth will face Liverpool as the bottom team of the Championship League, the second tier of English competition. The team nicknamed "The Greens" has only collected 25 points from 30 matches, thus remaining in 24th place.

The situation is very different in Liverpool. Not only dominating the English Premier League, Liverpool also advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League by topping the group stage. "The Reds" have also secured a place in the final of the English League Cup.

Facing a weak team in the fourth round of the FA Cup presents an opportunity for Slot to make extensive rotations. This was previously done by the Dutch tactician when Liverpool defeated Accrington 4-0 in the third round of the FA Cup on January 11.

Similar to the duel against Accrington, backup players such as Caoimhin Kelleher, Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliot, Darwin Nunez, and Federico Chiesa have the opportunity to fill the starting eleven lineup for the Reds at Home Park.

Slot strives to provide playing opportunities to all members of his squad. In the match against Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the FA Cup semifinal on Friday (7/2/2025) WIB, for instance, Slot placed Kelleher in goal, and then gave starting opportunities to Curtis Jones and Nunez.

According to Slot, giving players as much playing time as possible is very important to enhance each player's understanding. He also needs the role of all players to pursue maximum achievements this season.

"I will definitely use some players who haven't played much," Slot said in a press conference ahead of the match, Friday (8/2/2025), as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

Adding more slots provides an opportunity for substitutes to play, which is very important to maintain momentum and equal fitness levels for all players. Moreover, the Reds are facing tough matches in the league this month, starting with the Merseyside derby against Everton on Thursday (13/2/2025), followed by duels against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Newcastle United.

“If we never play some players, it will be difficult for them to be ready to replace their injured or suspended teammates,” Slot said.

Right-back Conor Bradley is hoping to continue his positive form when he arrives at Plymouth. Bradley, who replaced the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, admits the mood in the Liverpool squad is very good.

"After securing a place at Wembley (League Cup final), we've got our focus back on the FA Cup, then we're back to thinking about the league. We're just trying to win every game we play and keep performing well. Hopefully we can do that," Bradley was quoted as saying on the club's website, Saturday (8/2/2025).

Bradley is a good example of Liverpool's squad depth this season. Despite being a graduate of the club's academy, Bradley has been able to replace Alexander-Arnold, who is considered one of the best right-backs in the world today.

He has consistently produced impressive performances when called upon, such as in four League Cup games and against Accrington in the FA Cup. Bradley has made 19 appearances this season, registering two assists.

Regardless of the rotation strategy that will be carried out, Slot also proved to be very observant in determining the players he fielded. Despite being superior in everything over Plymouth, Slot has the opportunity to field one or two main attackers to provide goal guarantees.

Plymouth fans may have little chance of seeing Mohamed Salah in action, but Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz could feature in one of the front three at Home Park.

"It's always dangerous to face any team in the FA Cup. Especially because they (Plymouth) are playing at home and will come into the game like a final," Slot said.

Slots clearly need the sharpness of their goal source, because Plymouth proved to be difficult for Liverpool in the 2016-2017 FA Cup. At that time, Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by the Greens, so they had to undergo a replay at Home Park which was won thanks to a Lucas Leiva goal.

In the history of meetings with Plymouth, the Reds have won six games out of 12 duels. Liverpool's two defeats occurred when the two teams were still competing in the English Second Division in the mid-1950s.

Plymouth boss Miron Muslic is relishing the prospect of facing Slot's Liverpool. Muslic, who previously managed Belgian side Cercle Bruges, revealed he visited Rotterdam twice last year to watch Slot's Feyenoord in action in the 2023-24 season.

However, Muslic ensured that Plymouth would not provide comfort to Liverpool who came to Home Park.

"We believe we can be very difficult to beat. Liverpool are in a different dimension that will make it difficult for us to stop them, but we have some things we can show and learn from the game," Muslic, who replaced Wayne Rooney in January, was quoted as saying by the BBC.