Arne Slot reveals Liverpool injury boost after Crystal Palace humbling and defends EFL Cup team selection

Liverpool have received a small silver lining after their 3-0 EFL Cup defeat to Crystal Palace, as Arne Slot has revealed that one of the Reds' injury victims has a "good chance" of being fit for the weekend's Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

The ailing top-flight champions fell to a sobering sixth loss from seven games in all tournaments on Wednesday evening, crashing out of the League Cup in the fourth round at the hands of their new-found nemesis.

Liverpool had already lost to Palace in the Community Shield and Premier League this season, and they were comprehensively bested by the Eagles yet again, as Ismaila Sarr struck twice before a Yeremy Pino goal.

While Oliver Glasner's team had the look of a strong XI despite a handful of changes, Slot made alterations in abundance, starting the likes of Freddie Woodman, Calvin Ramsay, Trey Nyoni and Kieran Morrison at Anfield.

The second-string Reds were initially competitive before falling away as the game went on, and the consensus is that Slot sacrificed his side's chances of winning the EFL Cup to give themselves the best chance of a Premier League and/or Champions League revival.

Arne Slot reveals positive Liverpool injury news after Crystal Palace loss

The Dutchman did not even include a single recognised senior squad member on the bench, although he was not helped by the absences of Giovanni Leoni, Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong, Alexander Isak, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones through injury.

However, speaking to reporters in his post-game press conference, Slot revealed that Gravenberch might be in with a shot of returning from his ankle issue in time for the battle with Villa on Saturday.

"I think Ryan has a good chance," Slot said. "The other ones are going to be... let's wait and see tomorrow and Friday. I don't know [about] all of them but I think Ryan has the best chance from all of them."

Gravenberch has missed Liverpool's last three games in all tournaments as a result of the ankle injury he suffered in their 2-1 loss to Manchester United two weekends ago, and in his absence, Nyoni and the under-performing Alexis Mac Allister struggled to impose themselves on the game.

Things then went from bad to worse for Liverpool when young defender Amara Nallo was sent off after coming on as a substitute - his second red card in as many first-team games for the Reds after his debut dismissal against PSV Eindhoven in last season's Champions League.

Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace: Arne Slot has no regrets over team selection

Wellity Lucky, Kaide Gordon and Trent Kone-Doherty were the other substitutes sent on by Slot, who also insisted that he has no regrets over selecting a juvenile squad and leaving out a number of first-team regulars.

"It is the same selection I did tonight as I did last season in rounds like this," Slot added. "It is not a complete surprise to me if I see some of the struggles some players have had in pre-season and players that came from different leagues and it is a new challenge for them to play at Premier League and Champions League level in three games in seven days.

"I think at this moment in time, with only 15 or 16 players available – and I am talking then about players of our squad available – and to add to that this club has always used this competition to use their academy players as well – the non-starters and the academy players.

"It felt to me as the right decision and I haven't changed my opinion about that after the result because with our starters we haven't been able to win a lot from Palace as well."

Liverpool's defeat on Wednesday evening also represented a 91-year worst, as the Reds had not lost a home cup match by three goals or more without scoring since February 1934, when they were beaten 3-0 by Bolton Wanderers in an FA Cup game at Anfield.