Liverpool begin their FA Cup journey on Monday night as League 1 Barnsley make the trip from Yorkshire to Anfield.
In an FA Cup 3rd round that has already seen some upsets, with the likes of Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest being knocked out, Arne Slot’s men will be looking for a comfortable game to grab their first win of 2026.
LFC will be looking to claim their first win, and in turn, continue their unbeaten run that dates back to the start of December.
It is expected that many young and rotational players will see the field on Monday, with focus being unbroken on the form of the league and continental campaigns.
However, this is still the FA Cup and is still a chance for Slot to see what his squad has to offer, and I believe it is an important game for some and a chance for the Dutch coach to send a message. Here are some things I expect to see when the action kicks off.
Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni Getting 90 Minutes
The two shining stars of the Liverpool youth of today, neither started their youth career at LFC but have been brought in at young ages with the anticipation that they will play a big part in the future of the club.
To start we’ll focus on the electric winger, Rio Ngumoha. The 17-year-old announced his arrival with a last-minute winner against Newcastle at the start of the season and many fans expected that to be the catalyst of his breakout year for the Reds.
This hasn’t been the case so far. He has only featured in 9 games so far this season, racking up just 225 minutes in all competitions, something that has fallen below fans expectations and that of sporting director, Richard Hughes.
Recent rumours have indicated that there has been some tension between manager and Sporting Director, with Rio at the centre of it.
It has been reported that Slot wanted to loan Rio out to allow him to gain experience and consistent football away from Anfield, whereas Hughes wanted the winger fully integrated into the first team and gaining more minutes for the club.
As for Trey Nyoni, there has been less controversy around him and less chatter for him to see the pitch, but the young midfielder is another exciting player, who’s development is something Liverpool will want to see.
The dynamic midfielder has played in just four first team matches this year but did get two full 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup.
Both players are ones for the future but with a fairly small squad and facing lower league opposition, I fully expect the two of them to get 70+ minutes against the Tykes.
Emphatic Win
Now this one is obvious, we all want to see an LFC win, but I want a destruction. We saw Man City do it to Exeter City and have seen them do it in the past, and I believe this team is due an explosion of great proportions.
It may seem naïve and condescending to say that, but LFC have the quality in the squad, and some reports suggest that there may be a few big hitters in the squad, and taking this game a bit more serious could see some players gain more confidence and take the performance from this match into the future.
It is an idealistic way of looking at the game, but Barnsley currently sit 17th in League 1 and have conceded 33 goals in 21 games and have a young manager in Conor Hourihane, a name some of you may remember from his time at Aston Villa.
It all adds up for their confidence to be low and for Liverpool to massively take advantage of that and put them away and avoid any sort of uncomfortable night.
An Early Presence
This goes hand in hand with the previous expectation, not allowing Barnsley a sniff of an upset is the key for this game, and one way to do that is by imprinting your skill and quality on the game early.
By controlling the game from the off, which is what will likely happen anyway, they can fully control the flow and play at their own tempo. As mentioned prior, I don’t think that tempo should drop, at least until the second half.
By forcing a high tempo, Slot’s team can run Barnsley ragged and subject them to a match they will never experience for a long time, even further depleting any adrenaline, hunger or rhythm.
An early goal will open the game up and force the visitors to slightly abandon their gameplan and look to score, further opening them up, making this a low-risk evening rather than a tense cup tie where frustration or complacency could creep in and cause more problems than their opponents.