Liverpool predicted team vs Qarabag as Hugo Ekitike starts amid Florian Wirtz decision

Liverpool predicted team vs Qarabag in the Champions League as Hugo Ekitike is set to start but Arne Slot faces decisions on Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah, among others

Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool could secure a place in the top eight spots of the Champions League group phase regardless of its result against Qarabag depending on other games, but a win would confirm it for certain.

And, after a difficult period and a defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend, Arne Slot could really do with a convincing performance and a victory. In Europe has been where his best moments have come this season so far.

Alisson Becker will start in goal and a few other positions across the team are near-certain too. Jeremie Frimpong is the only right-back available and Virgil van Dijk the only center-back.

Wataru Endo is most likely to partner Van Dijk at the heart of the Liverpool defense, though Ryan Gravenberch would be another contender for the role.

Assuming that Endo is able to play there, Gravenberch could be partnered by Curtis Jones in the center of the pitch, with Alexis Mac Allister another option there. The Argentine has not been in good form of late.

Andy Robertson is expected to remain at Liverpool beyond the end of the transfer window despite interest from Tottenham, and he could start here too. Milos Kerkez, Slot said at the weekend, was near the 'red zone'.

Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez during a Liverpool training session(Image: Getty Images)

In attack, Hugo Ekitike is probably the only player certain to start, given that he was rested for the Bournemouth game, coming off the bench in the second half.

Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah could line up behind him, but Florian Wirtz is there too. Any one of those four could be handed a rest, with the German having played a lot of games lately.

"I think it's going to be really difficult to quieten the outside noise with the position we are in in the league," Slot admitted ahead of the game.

"Even if we win a few games, every loss or every disappointing result will start the noise coming back again. That's what you expect if you started the season as we did, not started but at a certain moment with so many losses.

Arne Slot speaks to the media during the Liverpool press conference at Anfield on January 27, 2026(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

"But it's impossible to shut down the noise at a club like this if you are not competing for the league. What we have to improve, for me it's so simple.

"I think in between the boxes we are a very, very, very good team. The way we play out from the back, the way we bring the ball towards promising positions, the box entries we have, also against Bournemouth, so many times we were in positions where I would like my players to be in.

"But killing those moments, bringing it from promising positions towards chances and if we have the chances then be clinical and finish it off — that is something where we have to improve. So, in the box we have to improve.

"And in the other box, other teams arrive there three, four times a game [and] too many times if they arrive it leads to chances and sometimes to goals.

"So, there's an imbalance in how many times we arrive in promising positions and how many teams arrive there — but there's not an imbalance in the goals that are scored, and that's a very bad cocktail we are having. If we can improve in both boxes, we can do very special things this season.

"If we can only improve in one box then it's probably going to be an acceptable season but not more than that. And if we can't improve in both boxes, [there is] going to be a lot of noise throughout the whole season."