Overview
- Liverpool’s 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace made it six defeats in seven across competitions and extended a four-game Premier League losing streak.
- Betfair moved Slot to second-favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave, reflecting intensified external pressure despite no indication of club action.
- Slot defended heavy rotation for the cup tie, said he effectively has 15–16 senior players available, and insisted he will not abandon Liverpool’s playing approach.
- Ryan Gravenberch trained and could feature against Aston Villa, with Curtis Jones and Alexander Isak described as 99.9% out and Alisson reported as still sidelined.
- Media expect major reinstatements for Villa, including Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah, before matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City next week.