Liverpool’s win over LASK provided plenty for supporters to get stuck into and debate as Andoni Iraola gave some of his fringe players a run out.

There have been big question marks over the Reds’ squad depth after their summer recruitment left them glaringly short in more than one area, but that was not apparent on Wednesday, as a number of fringe players stepped up and stood out.

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will.butcher

So pleased for Koumas. Has proved he can have a real impact this season in last two games 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Lewis Koumas is the big winner

While some of the players went more under the radar against LASK, Lewis Koumas certainly did not. After seeing two goals disallowed for offside, the Welshman finally buried a Jeremie Frimpong cross to get his first goal of the season.

His performance certainly did not go unnoticed among Liverpool fans, and Koumas was a topic of discussion on TalkingPoints as well.

Fans were delighted to see the academy graduate on the scoresheet, and noted that it was no less than he deserved having put in a real shift at the top of the pitch.

User Peter Lynch claimed that he was ‘buzzing for Koumas,’ after the 21-year-old put in a real statement performance, while freddie added that the striker had been ‘brilliant.’

Koumas looks likely to start Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Brentford on Saturday, and no matter what happens against the Bees, he is surely set for more minutes in the weeks ahead.

The Wales international had not looked to be an option prior to the season beginning, but Alexander Isak’s injury coupled with the faith put in him by Iraola have changed that. The biggest positive has been Koumas’ performances themselves, though, and he looks set to reap the rewards on the back of his goalscoring exploits in Austria.

Kostas Tsimikas has a shot at becoming a starter

The other player who Iraola should seriously be considering for a start on Saturday is Kostas Tsimikas, who really stepped up after being handed the captain’s armband against LASK.

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james.brooke

Plenty of positives. Possibly the biggest takeaway for me is that Nyoni looks like he is ready to start certain PL matches. Otherwise I’d be tempted to give the Tsimikas experiment another go as well.

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The Greek provided two fantastically accurate assists, first for Ronald Araujo and then for Jeremie Frimpong, which led to TalkingPoints user james.brooke calling him ‘the best set piece taker at the club.’

Freddie agreed, claiming that Tsimikas is ‘better than Kerkez,’ and with the Hungarian left-back in poor form at the start of the season, Iraola may have a decision to make which he had not expected.

Kerkez certainly cannot afford too many more poor performances, and though Tsimikas has had some shockers as well – not least Fulham at Anfield when he was hooked at half-time – the 30-year-old had a good international break and is in better form than the younger man starting ahead of him.

Kerkez will likely play against Brentford, but it would be no surprise if Tsimikas comes back in against Villarreal next midweek. Do well, and who knows what may lie ahead.

Any other fringe players worthy of mention?

Although Koumas and Tsimikas were the two to stand out amongst TalkingPoints users, they were not the only back-up players who put themselves in contention to play more against LASK.

Frimpong had arguably his best ever performance for Liverpool, although his critics will argue that his lack of defending for LASK’s second and third goals should count more towards his selection than his goal and two assists.

Elsewhere, Trey Nyoni is becoming a superstar, while it was fantastic to see Rio Ngumoha excelling on the right hand side of the attack as well.

Nyoni will almost certainly start against Brentford, and should be getting more minutes over the busy October/November period, while Ngumoha has as good a shout as anyone to be Liverpool’s starting right winger.