Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes Federico Chiesa has to meet the challenge posed by the forwards currently ahead of him and show his worth to the side in the second half of the season.
The Italian is set for only his fifth appearance of the campaign, having started just once and not played in the Premier League since September, in the FA Cup third round tie at home to Accrington.
Chiesa, who has been on the bench for five of the last seven games, has struggled from not having a pre-season with Juventus ahead of his £10million move to Anfield in late August.
“It’s not only been difficult for him in terms of match fitness, it’s also that he has to compete with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah,” said Slot.
“Everybody here knows the numbers Mo Salah brings in. There’s not many times a reason to take him out during a game or before a game.
“It’s not only about Federico when we are talking about him being limited in his playing time. It’s also about the others.
“But in terms of Federico it definitely has to do with the way he came in, the rest were already training a lot and we had to bring him up in terms of match fitness.
“It’s a combination of reasons why he didn’t play that much yet but let’s wait and see in the upcoming weeks and months if he’s able to help us because the second half of the season is even more important than the first.”
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Slot is likely to rotate his squad for the visit of the League Two side, although that means he could still field the likes of Chiesa, Dominik Szoboszlai – who missed the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham with illness – Ibrahima Konate, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott.
The Dutchman’s experience of facing lower-league opposition is limited but he has done plenty of preparation, which extended to the cult Milk Marketing Board advert from the 1990s which referenced then Liverpool striker Ian Rush.
Asked what he knew about his opponents, Slot added: “Not that much – but I do know about the milk advert. Probably everyone knows this.
“After the draw there was a video about a player (Josh Woods) who was so happy he was going to play at Anfield, so these kind of things I know.
“I think every team that plays against us it is a special occasion, but especially for a lower league team. They will be all up for it, they have looked forward to this game for many weeks.
“If you go to a Champions League final everyone is completely hyped up and ready and, tomorrow, for them that will feel like it is the Champions League final, so we have to be aware of that.”
On his own experience of facing lower-placed opposition Slot, a former FC Zwolle, NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam player, said: “I mostly played at a team that was not as good as the one we faced – that’s not completely true but for large parts of my career that was true – and my experience as a manager I don’t know.
“When I was at Feyenoord I always said I was unlucky with the draw as almost every time we had the most difficult one we could get and that means you played a team that plays in the same league, where other teams sometimes played an amateur club.
“I don’t remember playing against a very low league club in my managerial career in Holland, but I was only a manager there for three or four years so that has something to do with it as well.”
