Liverpool star on brink of Champions League suspension in fresh worry for Arne Slot

Liverpool hosts Qarabag in the eighth game of its Champions League campaign, with Arne Slot needing as many players available as possible at the moment due to having a small squad

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during a Champions League press conference.(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool has two players who are just one booking away from a suspension in the Champions League, though one is Conor Bradley, who is unlikely to play again this season due to injury.

With yellow cards not wiped until the quarter-final stage and players who reach three bookings before that point picking up a one-match ban, Curtis Jones must tread carefully if he is selected to play for Liverpool against Qarabag.

He was cautioned late on against Atletico Madrid on matchday one and then was also yellow-carded against Inter Milan at the San Siro. Jones is therefore potentially just one foul away from being unavailable for a game.

Jones needs to get through to the end of the quarter-finals — at least three more fixtures, but maybe five if the Reds end up in the play-off — without getting booked, assuming that Liverpool gets that far in the tournament.

Ahead of the semi-finals kicking off, yellow cards are reset. They also expire at the end of the season, so they won't carry on into next season's edition.

Liverpool doesn't have loads of options available at the moment because of going into the season with a relatively small roster. Alexander Isak is among the long-term absentees.

Curtis Jones of Liverpool with the ball during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match Liverpool vs Barnsley at Anfield, Liverpool(Image: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images)

Losing Jones, even for a game, would be a blow as a result. He could start later today with neither Ryan Gravenberch nor Alexis Mac Allister in great form at the moment.

"That's not a worry but that's a difficulty," Slot said when he was asked about managing his players' workload. "I can assure you that I would have preferred to start with Hugo [Ekitike] against Bournemouth.

"If we probably would have had one or two days extra, he would have 100 per cent started that game again because I liked his performance against Marseille.

"But he was out with an injury for two weeks and then he had to play quite a lot of games.

"With only one number nine available for the upcoming months, it made sense to me to manage his load as well, and that is what I had to do with more players.

"Jeremie Frimpong, who was sitting here just before me, is another example of that. Giving him another time 90 [minutes], I think you could see that he was tired just before I took him off, at least that was my take on it, and then it's a big risk to keep him on.

"But I want to emphasize how much respect I have for the players that we have, because it's almost constantly the same players that have to play and they have to do this in difficult circumstances."