Eight Liverpool players will be unavailable for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round trip to Arsenal due to injuries and international commitments, and an even more peculiar reason has further limited Jurgen Klopp’s options for selection.
The Athletic has reported that Owen Beck, who was recently brought back, is not allowed to play in the encounter at Emirates Stadium because he has not yet completed the one-match ban from his loan stay at Dundee, which ended during the New Year’s holiday.
The 21-year-old will not play in the FA Cup against the Gunners due to a puzzling bit of bureaucracy. He received yellow cards in the Dees’ Scottish League Cup matches against Bonnyrigg Rose and Inverness Caledonian Thistle last July, and he failed to observe the cup suspension because his loan club did not advance past the group stage in the previous competition.
Klopp will undoubtedly be planning on plenty of squad rotation for the Arsenal and Fulham games given the two cup ties in four days this coming week and the large number of injured players. Therefore, he will be disappointed not to have Beck available for selection tomorrow due to an odd piece of legislation and an unfortunate circumstance.
The 21-year-old will also find it unfortunate that he will not be able to start against the Gunners in a match when, had he been able to play, he could have sent a strong message to his manager.
Thus, it appears likely that Joe Gomez will remain at left back, particularly if Liverpool opt for a young center-back duo of Jarell Quansah and Ibrahima Konate, with the Welsh teenager perhaps joining the squad for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup match.
It’s unbelievable that Beck won’t be allowed to participate in this weekend’s FA Cup because of a few yellow cards from six months ago, in a competition that was overseen by a separate national association.
I hope he gets the chance to play for the Reds soon and that his teammates can win tomorrow in North London.
