Team News: Szoboszlai the Headline Absence for Sunderland

Liverpool will make the short trip to Wearside without their Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai after the midfielder collected a straight red card during Sunday’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Manchester City. The dismissal rules him out of Wednesday’s League Cup quarter-final at the Stadium of Light, leaving Arne Slot to reshuffle a squad already stretched by injury.

Szoboszlai’s suspension compounds selection issues on the right side of defence. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley remain sidelined, while Joe Gomez faces a race against time after three weeks out; Slot has not discounted the England international but admits match fitness is a concern.

With natural options depleted, Slot may again turn to midfielders to fill the void. Curtis Jones and Wataru Endō have both operated as auxiliary right backs this season and are available for selection. Calvin Ramsay, the 21-year-old Scot, is fit and eager, yet the Dutch coach has so far hesitated to trust the former Aberdeen man in high-stakes fixtures.

An experimental switch of a left-footed defender to the opposite flank has been floated internally, though club sources describe such a move as unlikely. Whatever permutation Slot chooses, the visit to Sunderland—who have already upset top-flight opposition this term—promises another examination of Liverpool’s squad depth.