Plymouth: Hazard, Taloverov, Katic, Pleguezuelo, Sorinola, Randell, Gyabi, Puchacz, Bundu, Wright, Hardie. Subs: Grimshaw, Mumba, Houghton, Obafemi, Boateng, Tijani, Al Hajj, Baidoo, Palsson. Liverpool: Kelleher, Nyoni, Quansah, Gomez, Tsimikas, Elliott, Endo, McConnell, Chiesa, Jota, Diaz. Subs: Jaros, Nunez, Jones, Kone-Doherty, Mabaya, Nallo, Ngumoha, Norris, Young. What a cup tie this is. One team bottom of the Championship, the other top of the Premier League and yet, there is the faintest whiff of an upset here. Plymouth have already despatched top-flight Brentford in the third round (under the interim duo of the first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell and the club captain Joe Edwards, the first game since the sacking of Wayne Rooney) and are on something on a hot-streak recently, drawing 2-2 at fourth-placed Sunderland and beating fifth-placed West Brom in their last two Championship matches.
All credit then to Miron Muslic, then, who endured a difficult start to life at Home Park, but seems to have galvanised the players and fans recently. It’s easy to see why: his initial address to the squad after their win at Brentford went viral. In impressive English for a man that has never previously worked in England, Muslic seems to know his way around a speech. Of course, Liverpool are heavy favourites, not just for this match but for the competition in general, especially with Arsenal and Chelsea suffering early exits. This is their first match at Home Park since 2017, where Jürgen Klopp fielded Liverpool’s youngest-ever side – including an 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold – who had to settle for a frustrating 0-0 draw (“a match of never-to-be-forgotten tedium” with Liverpool winning the replay 1-0). Argyle will surely take a draw at 90 minutes today, although the game will now go to extra-time and possibly penalties if that is the case. There is also no VAR today, remember.
