Arne Slot has sprung something of a surprise with his Liverpool starting XI to face Bournemouth this evening by dropping Hugo Ekitike to the bench.
In the only change to the team which began the 3-0 win over Marseille in midweek, Cody Gakpo has come in for the Frenchman in attack, with the Reds’ top scorer for the season so far omitted from the starting line-up by choice for the first time in the Premier League since early December.
There’s been an increased reliance on the 23-year-old since Alexander Isak suffered a serious injury just before Christmas, and the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt marksman isn’t long back from a brief layoff with a thigh problem earlier this month.
Ian Doyle surprised as Ekitike drops out of Liverpool starting XI
When the team news was confirmed 75 minutes before kick-off at the Vitality Stadium, Ekitike’s omission may well have raised a few eyebrows.
It did for the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle, who wrote: ‘A slight surprise Gakpo is in ahead of Ekitike. Can only assume it’s due to workload. Mind you, there’ll be a fume from fans who for some reason dislike Gakpo. He’s the second-top scorer this season for Liverpool, don’t forget.’
A gamble by Slot, but fans should trust in Gakpo
Ekitike’s exclusion from the starting XI does seem rather surprising, even when considering Doyle’s pertinent suggestion that the Frenchman’s workload is perhaps being managed – he played the full 90 minutes against Burnley last weekend and all but the final 15 of the win in Marseille (Transfermarkt).
It’s a gamble by Slot to omit Liverpool’s top scorer for the season in a tough away fixture when the Reds have yet to win a Premier League game in 2026, even though there should still be enough starting firepower to earn three points for the champions this evening.
As replacements go, Gakpo is far more trustworthy than some dissenting online fans would have you believe. As Doyle rightly points out, only Ekitike has scored more than the Dutchman for LFC this term, and the 26-year-old was so nearly the last-gasp match-winning hero at Fulham three weeks ago until Harrison Reed’s 97th-minute piledriver to ensure a 2-2 draw.
Our number 18 also netted in the reverse fixture against Bournemouth on the opening night of the Premier League campaign, so supporters ought to have faith in him to come up with the good today and justify Slot’s bold call up front.
Let’s hope that Ekitike’s omission from the starting XI is purely to manage his minutes and not because of any injury concerns for the Frenchman.
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