Arne Slot released seven of his experienced players as Liverpool face second-tier side Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, instead handing a 16-year-old his first-team debut.

The Liverpool boss made eight changes to his lineup for Sunday’s cup tie from the side that suffered their first defeat of 2025 in midweek.

The first starting spot went to 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who becomes the club’s second-youngest debutant in history behind Jerome Sinclair, while Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott also got the nod.

Despite some talent from the academy, Slot’s starting lineup against the League Two side still features prominent players, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota.

However, several first team players were completely rested on this occasion, which will be a relief for many given the fatigue within the group.

Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo And Mohamed Salah are all fit, but were not included in the squad for the matchday on Sunday.

Joe Gomez is another notable absentee, but he remains in the treatment room with a hamstring injury sustained during the trip to West Ham.

Explaining why Trent Alexander-Arnold was given the nod, Slot said he “didn’t think it was the right thing to bring Conor back into the starting XI” after he played on Wednesday night because the return journey was disrupted and between the Playing 62 hours.

Tyler Morton, meanwhile, has recovered from an ankle injury and is in the starting XI, and Dominik Szoboszlai is out of the starting XI for the first time since the league trip to Tottenham before Christmas.

The above seven players are expected to return on Tuesday for the important trip to Nottingham Forest, who are full of confidence and sit six points behind the Reds in third place.