Confirmed Liverpool line-up v West Ham: Chiesa gets first Reds start as Nunez keeps his place | OneFootball

Liverpool begin their defence of the Carabao Cup with a home clash against West Ham in round three of the competition tonight.

It marks not only Arne Slot’s first match in this tournament, but also gives him a first experience of Anfield under floodlights, with each of his games at the venue so far taking place in broad daylight.

As is typical of Premier League clubs this early in the competition, particularly those who also have European commitments, there are changes aplenty in the starting line-up as the Dutchman gives an opportunity to many of those who’ve had little or no game-time so far this season.

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Liverpool will be aiming for a repeat of when the two teams met in the Carabao Cup in the quarter-finals last season (a 5-1 home win), with this being West Ham’s third visit to L4 in the space of just over 12 months.

Liverpool starting line-up v West Ham

As expected, Slot has rung the changes for tonight’s domestic cup clash, with Caoimhin Kelleher one of just two players from the starting line-up against Bournemouth on Saturday who’s also on from the first whistle here.

The back four comprises Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas, with Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones – who scored twice against West Ham in the Carabao Cup last December – at the base of midfield.

Up front, Federico Chiesa is handed his first start for Liverpool after two outings off the bench in recent days, with Cody Gakpo coming in on the left flank in place of Luis Diaz. Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez both start, with one likely to play just off the other.

Many of the big names are on the bench if needed, while Vitezslav Jaros and Tyler Morton make rare matchday squad inclusions.

You can view the team news in full below, via @LFC on X: