Liverpool hold a comfortable lead going into their Europa League return leg against Sparta Prague at Anfield, but Jurgen Klopp’s side are short of numbers at the back

Liverpool starlet Carter Pinnington could be in line for a first-team debut after the Reds added the teenager to their ‘B’ list for the Europa League.

While the deadline has passed for adding new names to their main European squad, Jurgen Klopp’s side are still able to call upon homegrown players from their under-21 set-up.

This has prompted them to add 17-year-old Pinnington to the squad for their home meeting with Sparta Prague.

Pinnington’s inclusion comes after senior centre-back Ibrahima Konate was ruled out of the match through injury. However, fellow teenager Amara Nallo – who was on the bench for Sunday’s draw with Manchester City – hasn’t been on Liverpool’s books long enough to qualify for the ‘B’ list after only joining in 2023.

Liverpool hold a healthy advantage going into the Anfield meeting after winning 5-1 in Czechia. The comfortable lead could prompt Jurgen Klopp to give a number of youngsters minutes, with Lewis Koumas and Mateusz Musialowski among the unused subs in the first leg.

“Ibou Konate is out, we start all three other centre halves [against Manchester City],” Liverpool boss Klopp said. “One goes down, we play the next two games in six days with two centre-halves, who play all the time.”

Klopp added that Konate has “A good chance” of featuring in the FA Cup against Manchester United on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether the Reds continue with Virgil van Dijk and Jarell Quansah after the pair started against City last time out.

Quansah is eligible for the ‘B’ list this season, as are fellow first-teamers Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott. Polish youngster Musialowski and forward Jayden Danns were both added to the list before the trip to Prague last time out.

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Carter Pinnington has been a regular for Liverpool’s under-21s (
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Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Despite only being 17 years old, Pinnington has been a regular for Liverpool’s under-21 side in Premier League 2 this term. He also started all four EFL Trophy games as the Reds made it into the second round.

He also played the full 90 minutes of an impressive 7-1 FA Youth Cup victory over Arsenal in January. Danns and Koumas both stepped up to first-team action after netting in that game, while Trey Nyoni – who started that game in midfield – made his senior debut in the FA Cup fifth round against Southampton.

Liverpool were comfortable in the first leg of their match against Sparta Prague, with Darwin Nunez scoring twice in a 5-1 victory. They also boasted a perfect home record in the group stages, beating Union SG, Toulouse and LASK by an aggregate margin of 11 goals to one.