Micah Richards shares why Arne Slot's team selection vs Crystal Palace was 'the right decision'

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However, it seems that the decision to field mainly players from the Liverpool academy was due to the next set of fixtures, with three over the coming week against Aston Villa, Real Madrid, and Manchester City.These are difficult fixtures, and given that Slot’s side have now lost six out of their last seven games, resting the first team may be a good idea in hindsight, even if he should have chosen some extra experienced legs for the bench.Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty ImagesMicah Richards defends Arne Slot’s team selectionMicah Richards was one pundit who had defended the decision by the Dutchman to field the younger players despite Jamie O’Hara branding the Slot decision a ‘disgrace’.The former Manchester City star explained that this was not unlike what Jurgen Klopp used to do when he was manager of the club during this stage of the competition, and believes Slot had more of a right given the poor form.READ MORE: Danny Murphy says Liverpool have not been ‘good enough’ in one area this seasonSpeaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards gave his assessment of why it was the correct decision despite fan and pundit critiques.“In fairness, though, with Liverpool, I remember in previous seasons, they’ve always used their youngsters, certainly at this stage of the cup. And I know they’ve been having a difficult time.“But the fact is, the League Cup compared to the Premier League and the Champions League, it’s not as big.

They’ve brought in some new players. But top players are bought for 100 plus because they’re not supposed to take time.

And I just think for a manager, he’s got to pick and choose the right moments for the players to get the wins and losses. So I totally understood why he did it.”Liverpool have little excuse to perform badly against Aston VillaThe Reds now need to pick up their form, especially in the league, as they find themselves in seventh with Aston Villa on the same points.They host Villa on Saturday in what is a must-win game because of the decisions taken by Slot in the cup this week.If the squad needed a rest and should be seemingly 100% for the weekend’s game, there should really be no excuses for losing to Unai Emery’s side.It is the least worrying game of the three, but it sets the tone for what kind of week Liverpool fans can expect.