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With Liverpool facing Bournemouth on Saturday in the FA Cup and Everton on Tuesday in the league, a few unusual faces could be in the starting lineup on the weekend. Options in midfield and defence may be limited due to injuries, but there's the chance for changes in attack as well as in goal, where Brad Jones is expected to start his second match of the season.
"For me, it’s a case of training hard and making sure I’m ready," Jones said. "In general, I treat each day before a game like I’m going to play, even though 99 per cent of the time I probably won’t. I learned pretty early on that anything can happen. I’ve realised you’ve got to prepare all the time like you’re going to start, so that if that surprise is sprung on you, you’re as ready as you can be."
After sitting out the League Cup, Jones saw his first action in the third round of the FA Cup against Oldham, stopping all three of the League One side's shots on target to record the clean sheet. With the FA Cup seemingly his main opportunity for minutes, Jones is looking forward to the chance to impress on Saturday—and to give himself his best chance of a third start by helping Liverpool to advance.
"If the gaffer gives you a chance, you’ve got to try and take it," he added. "Being a goalkeeper, it’s different if you’re not playing. It’s rare that you come on as a substitute. But I think in general it’s very similar for a lot of players. Nothing gets guaranteed, it’s purely down to the manager’s ideas of the game and what he wants to do and circumstances."
Bournemouth host Liverpool for the early kickoff on Saturday, with the clubs set to start at 12:45PM GMT/7:45AM EST from England's south coast. After missing out on television coverage in the last round, ITV1 has selected the match as one of the round's televised affairs.
