"Our bench is better than most prem XIs", "Goal for Chiesa tonight" - Liverpool fans react as Reds name XI for West Ham clash

Liverpool fans reacted in excitement on X (formerly Twitter) after Arne Slot named his starting XI to face West Ham United. The Reds will host the Hammers today (September 25) in the third round of the Carabao Cup as they look to retain the title.

West Ham will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday (September 21), while Arne Slot’s side will be looking to continue on their positive trajectory. The Reds secured a commanding 3-0 win in their last game against Bournemouth at Anfield.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot named a heavily rotated lineup for the clash against the Hammers, with only Caoimhin Kelleher and Darwin Nunez retaining their position in the XI.

Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, and Kostas Tsimikas form the back four. Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones will be the two deepest midfielders, with a front four of Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo.

Given these significant changes made to the starting XI, fans were thrilled and took to X to share their opinions on the lineup.

One fan posted:

"our bench is better than most prem XIs."

Another fan wrote:

"Goal for chiesa tonight."

"Interesting attack," another chimed in.

"This will end up with a 5:4 score or something like that," another fan wrote.

"Chiesa first team start lets go," another fan said.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on West Ham’s start to the season

Ahead of Liverpool’s EFL Cup clash against West Ham, Arne Slot gave his assessment of their performances so far this season. He said (via Liverpool’s website):

"Tough start as well, they faced some strong opponents. I saw during their games that they have very good spells as well, sometimes were a bit unlucky with the result. A lot of good players, brought in a lot of players in the summer window that haven’t been implemented yet but maybe there is a chance for them tomorrow to start."

"They will come back stronger because of all the quality they already had last season and which they brought in. They have a good manager as well. Hopefully it’s going to take them a few days extra! But they will come back stronger than they have started the season."

West Ham are currently 14th in the Premier League with four points from five matches. They have suffered defeats to Manchester City, Chelsea, and Aston Villa in the league, with their solitary win coming against Crystal Palace.