With Liverpool playing three games in six days and injuries piling, Jurgen Klopp will have to make some tough choices when it comes to his starting lineup for the visit of West Ham.

The German team gave their all in their goalless draw against Manchester United on Sunday, and they will need to be at their best for this weekend’s pivotal top-of-the-table matchup with Arsenal.

But Klopp has a tough balance to strike because the chance to advance to the Carabao Cup semifinals cannot be turned down by merely selecting a group of young players in the middle of the week.

Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to start in goal, as he has in past rounds of this competition, so at least one decision should be easy.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, the right-back, will undoubtedly be shielded, with Joe Gomez filling in as his backup, as has been the case frequently this season.

Although Jarell Quansah can contribute to the rotation theme at centre back, Klopp will probably have to ask Virgil van Dijk to start due to Joel Matip’s absence and Gomez’s employment on the wing.

Kostas Tsimikas might also need to play for at least an hour, since Luke Chambers might not be prepared for a huge step up from his sporadic appearances in the Europa League.

Wataru Endo cannot start this game against Arsenal because of his continued absence from Alexis Mac Allister in the midfield, where he will undoubtedly be needed for the entire ninety minutes.

This suggests that Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai will go before Curtis Jones in holding midfield.

Ben Doak, up top, is expected to be out for an extended period of time following surgery, thus Klopp will have to stick with his older alternatives.

The management will be hoping that a front three consisting of Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah can gain confidence and goals to advance Liverpool to the next round.

Predicted starting lineup for Liverpool against West Ham: Kelleher; Jones, Szoboszlai, Elliott; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas