Both the Liverpool Under-21s and Rochdale Under-21s will be competing in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, and they will be trying to achieve their first win of the season in the competition. The match will take place in Liverpool.
Rochdale is scheduled to play against Liverpool. While the Liverpool U21s were beaten on the road by Salford City with a score of 2-1, Rochdale’s match against Accrington Stanley was decided on penalty kicks.
Match Preview: Rochdale vs Liverpool Under-21s
Rochdale’s first EFL Trophy game came at Accrington, where they tied 3-3 but lost 4-3 on penalties. Rochdale still earned a point. After Accrington took a two-goal lead in the first half, The Dale scored three times in seven minutes to make it look like they may win.
Tyree Sinclair’s late own goal forced penalty kicks to determine the game. Liverpool-born Jim Bentley was managing his first match since leaving AFC Fylde for Rochdale. Since then, they’ve only won one of three League Two matches under him.
The 46-year-old will want to beat Liverpool on Tuesday before a weekend trip to Colchester. Only a win in East Anglia can get them off the bottom of the table and into the middle. Salford U21s beat Liverpool U21s 2-1 at home. Salford dominated Liverpool U21s.
Kevin Berkoe and Jack Jenkins scored before halftime, and Layton Rhys Stewart’s late goal was a consolation. Jurgen Klopp may pay more attention to this match than usual since several senior players are departing for international duty.
This may motivate the Reds’ younger players to do well. In the previous three seasons, they’ve only won one point in 10 matches in this event, so they’ll need all the motivation they can find to avoid another defeat.
Team News: Rochdale vs Liverpool Under-21s
As a result of his suspension, Ethan Ebanks-Landell will not be available to Rochdale. Femi Seriki and Rayhaan Tulloch, are two of Rochdale’s younger players.
They are likely to earn an opportunity to start since Bentley will likely make multiple substitutions in preparation for Saturday’s very crucial league fixture. In the meanwhile, Liverpool U21s might include Arthur and Nat Phillips, who are both in need of more game time.
If not, it will most likely be a young and inexperienced squad since only two players older than 21 years old are permitted to participate in academy teams in this league. Stefan Bajcetic is believed to be one of those players.
- Rochdale Probable Starting Lineup: Slicker, Seriki, Graham, McNulty, White, Brierley, Ball, Tulloch, Malley, Odoh, Rodney.
- Potential Starting Lineup for Liverpool Under-21: Davies, Mabaya, Quansah, Phillips, Chambers, Clark, Arthur, Bajectic, Blair, Stewart, Woltman.
Our Prediction: Rochdale 2-1 Liverpool Under-21s
It has been a struggle for Liverpool U21s to compete well in this competition in recent years, and we anticipate that trend to continue on Tuesday if they don’t improve their performance significantly. Rochdale is not in any way enjoying a good run of form, which is likely to make them more eager to avoid losing to an academy club in a manner that would be embarrassing for them.
