Arne Slot's Andy Robertson 'admission' could see Liverpool make key change vs Brighton

Arne Slot could turn to Kostas Tsimikas to start this weekend against Brighton as Liverpool manage their hectic game schedule.

This season has seen the Dutch boss rotate the left-back pairing of Tsimikas and Andy Robertson, with the Scotsman being entrusted as the first choice. In previous years, it had been very difficult to displace him but Slot has opted for rotating the pair and he spoke on the left-back situation ahead of their league game with Brighton.

The Reds head coach said: “I wouldn’t say a dilemma. There have been more positions we have rotated - the left wing, in the midfield and the nine position. It probably has to do with Robbo’s pre-season. He had no pre-season because he came back injured from the Euros. He missed almost all of pre-season, which for most of them was two weeks but for him was only a few days. 

“Kostas did really well in that period and it has to do with that quality Kostas brings and Robbo missing pre-season so that’s why we started rotating from the start a bit because if a player didn’t have any pre-season, there was no time to bring him to a situation where he could play three games in a row.”

While his comments did give an insight into how he views both players at the current time, there was a selection hint ahead of the weekend as Robertson played the full 90 minutes against Brighton in the EFL Cup, potentially opening the door for Tsimikas to come in at the weekend. Since the international break, Robertson has started three of their four games. Tsimikas began the Champions League game with RB Leipzig, later earning the Man of the Match award. Robertson played 63 minutes against Arsenal and then the full 90 on Wednesday - and managing his minutes will likely result in a Tsimikas start at the weekend.

When comparing how both have started the season using Robertson’s league stats and Tsimikas’ Champions League figures, it suggests that the Greek international is playing perhaps his best football since arriving at the club four years ago. For example, Tsimikas has 24 metrics in the 90th percentile or above while Robertson has 16.

From the results, Tsimikas is proving that his crossing, passing and set-piece ability is a clear strong area and, going forward, he is very effective. Whereas Robertson boasts a similar set of results as well as ranking high for fouls committed and aerials lost. Given that Robertson’s best days are behind him and that Tsimikas may be entering the prime of his career, this is the first time since he came to the club that he may be able to feasibly start games over his teammate - and that could begin with Brighton this weekend.