Alexander Isak axed: Three Liverpool fringe players who must now start vs PSV
Liverpool are aiming to continue their decent Champions League form against PSV amid some serious struggles in the Premier League.
Liverpool have been able to maintain some better performances in the Champions League this season despite their poor domestic showings in recent weeks.
They have lost six of their last seven league outings and currently sit in 12th place in the top-flight after being beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest on Saturday (22 November).
By contrast, they have won three of their four Champions League games and were able to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at Anfield last time out in the competition on 4 November.
They now face PSV Eindhoven at home on Wednesday (26 November) aiming to consolidate themselves in the top eight, and Football Insider have picked out three fringe players that Arne Slot must hand starts to if they wish to take all three points from the clash.
Hugo Ekitike
Alexander Isak has struggled to make an impact since his British transfer record fee switch from Newcastle, and Slot handed him a start against Forest but he once again failed to impress.
Hugo Ekitike has done well by comparison, with six goals in 17 games so far this season, and he needs to be restored to the Reds’ starting lineup against PSV as their number nine.
Football Insider’s sources have revealed that Slot is under pressure to stick by Isak due to his large fee, but he has to put the team first and give Ekitike another start on Wednesday night.
Federico Chiesa
Federico Chiesa has struggled for game-time once at Liverpool more this season despite widespread clamour from fans to see him play more often in big games.
He has featured for 31 minutes off the bench across their last four outings, and their recent struggles as a team mean this feels like the ideal game for Slot to hand him a first start in the Champions League this term.
Chiesa is ready to leave Liverpool in January due to his lack of minutes, but they simply must keep him as a rotation option this season due to his obvious quality, and so being given a bigger chance against PSV would surely go a long way to keeping him for the rest of the campaign.
Joe Gomez
Joe Gomez‘s only two starts so far this season have been in the EFL Cup, but Ibrahima Konate‘s struggles in recent weeks mean he must be handed a chance at centre-back on Wednesday.
Konate has been below-par too often in 2025-26, and his dismal showing against Forest last time out should push Slot to give Gomez an opportunity to change the dynamics of his backline.
The 28-year-old could even possibly start at right-back over Dominik Szoboszlai, with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both out injured, and it seems an obvious decision to start him as Liverpool try out different systems and players to find a winning formula.