Arne Slot drops Rio Ngumoha Liverpool start hint as 'careful' approach explained

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Rio Ngumoha has been impressing for Liverpool in substitute appearances but could soon find himself in the Premier League first XIArne Slot did not rule out the possability of Rio Ngumoha starting against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday as the teenage winger continues to impress.The 17-year-old shot to prominence at the start of the season after coming off the bench to score a dramatic 100th-minute winner against Newcastle United at St James' Park, immediately endearing himself to Liverpool supporters. whilst showcasing his deadly scoring ability.Ngumoha has made 18 appearances for the Reds this season, but his contribution has been largely limited to late substitute cameos, with his four starts all coming in the domestic cup competitions.However, Liverpool have been suffering from a notable lack of pace in the wide forward areas this season and after impressing in late appearances against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, as well as in the FA Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers, there has been calls from some quarters for the teenage star to be handed his first Premier League start.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageSlot resisted the temptation to include Ngumoha in his starting XI against Galatasaray in the Champions League in Istanbul on Tuesday, but with free-falling Tottenham visiting Anfield on Sunday, the former Chelsea academy product will be hoping to get the nod this time from the off.Liverpool's Dutch head coach has remained cautious with his use of the winger so far, preferring to slowly ease him into first team match involvement, but when asked during is pre-match press conference on Friday whether he could be about to unleash Ngumoha, he did not rule out the suggestion.xcSlot said: "It's not that we think so far ahead for his career, but we have treated him carefully, I have said that before.

Players at this club have had that - Jayden Danns - but Rio can start for us."I said he would get more playing time and we saw that, so he is an option to start one of the upcoming three games."Liverpool are currently sixth in the table, having lost their most recent Premier League match to basement club Wolves. But they could hardly be facing a more ideal opponent on Sunday in the shape of Spurs.The North London side will arrive having lost six straight matches, leaving new manager Igor Tudor winless.The troubled Croatian boss is already under huge pressure, as Tottenham desperately try to escape getting sucked into the relegation zone following a dismal run of form.They suffered a disastrous result in the Champions League on Tuesday, losing 5-2 to Atletico Madrid in a match that saw Spurs 4-0 inside 25 minutes as recalled goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky made two howling errors before being hauled off with just 17 minutes played.But Liverpool have already dropped points at home against Nottingham Forest and Burnley this season, both of whom re below Tottenham in the table, as well as losing to Wolves last time out, so there will be no room for complacency.Speaking about expectations for the match, Slot said: "I think if Spurs are first in league, everyone would still expect us to win at Anfield.

Same as Man City, Arsenal... we are expected to win at home."Expectations come from history, we can win a lot of games, home games, doesn't matter who we face, expectations are always sky high. That is what we have done last few years."Ngumoha will be hoping that his manager believes that the time is now right to hand him his first Premier League start and put the Reds on the front foot against their beleaguered opponents.