Liverpool advanced to the fourth round of the EFL Cup as they beat Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Tuesday night, despite Andoni Iraola making 10 changes to the starting XI that drew with Fulham at the weekend.
Cup competitions are usually seen as the perfect opportunity for managers to take a look at fringe players, as the Spaniard chose to do as Liverpool hosted Roberto De Zerbi's men.
Youngsters Trey Nyoni, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas were among those given rare starts, while Jeremie Frimpong started at right-back having found himself behind Ronald Araujo in the pecking order in recent matches.
Iraola likes attacking full-backs, but the Netherlands international offered little from an attacking point of view, while Spurs clearly targeted his side as they looked to get some attacking joy, as he had trouble containing the likes of Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus and Omar Marmoush during his 90 minutes on the pitch.
Frimpong has so far failed to impress in a red shirt, and he has been lambasted by fans at times both this season and last for his performances.
It looks clear right now that Araujo is Iraola's first-choice right-back, while Conor Bradley will be back in action sooner rather than later after injury.
The Dutch full-back has a lot of improving to do to prove that he has a future at Liverpool, having cost the Merseyside outfit £30m from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025.
Right now, he is viewed as one of the club's weakest players, which suggests that a new first-choice right-back needs to be signed given they are yet to find a player who can match what Trent Alexander-Arnold brought to the party prior to his move to Real Madrid.
Wataru Endo Has No Future at Liverpool
One player who is worse than Frimpong but may have expected a start, or at least get some minutes, against Tottenham, would have been midfielder Wataru Endo.
The 33-year-old was already excluded from the club's 25-man Champions League squad last week, along with Federico Chiesa, with the likes of McConnell and Nyoni named ahead of him.
With 10 changes made to the starting XI against Tottenham and Endo being an unused substitute in all four of Liverpool's Premier League matches so far this term, it looked like the perfect opportunity to give the £16m man some action in midfield, or even in defence.
Endo impressed in a centre-back role against Como during pre-season, but he hasn't been seen there since.
However, Iraola picked 22-year-old McConnell and 19-year-old Nyoni instead of him in the XI, even though Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai began the game from the bench.
Speaking in recent days, the Spanish manager made it clear that he sees other players being ahead of Endo in the pecking order, but also that he expects him to have his moments this season.
“The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players," Iraola said.
He’s competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to Trey (Nyoni), Ryan (Gravenberch), Alexis (Mac Allister), Dom (Szoboszlai), players that I am selecting right now.
“But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”
If truth be told, if you aren't getting any minutes in a game like this where there are multiple changes and chances given to younger players, then when exactly is Endo going to get any time on the pitch?
Endo's contract runs out at the end of the season, and it appears likely that Liverpool will look to take advantage of their final opportunity to recoup some money for him in January, with so many players considered being ahead of him.
Iraola clearly doesn't fancy him, and the best outcome for all parties looks to be an exit in a few months' time.