Liverpool name youngest-ever side for FA Cup clash with Shrewsbury Town

Liverpool named their youngest-ever starting XI for the FA Cup fourth-round replay with Shrewsbury Town, as Curtis Jones became their youngest captain.

The Reds were in action against League One side Shrewsbury at Anfield on Tuesday, after the minnows fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 on January 26.

However, Jurgen Klopp insisted after the first match that – due to the Premier League winter break which is currently under way – he would not be fielding any of Liverpool’s first-team players in the replay.

Klopp also allowed academy coach Neil Critchley to take charge for the match, as he did when a youthful Liverpool side, at the time the youngest that had ever featured for the club, were beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa in the EFL Cup in December.

19y 102d – With an average age of 19 years and 102 days, Liverpool have tonight named their youngest ever starting XI in all competitions for the second time this season, surpassing their lineup for the League Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa in December (19y 182d). Break. pic.twitter.com/iUM7BjIyvx

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2020

Opta said that with an average age of 19 years and 102 days, the Liverpool side named for Tuesday’s clash was the youngest in the history of the club, compared to the average age of 19 years and 182 days of the XI which started at Villa Park.

It also means that five of the six youngest starting XIs in Liverpool’s history have been named since Klopp took charge in October 2015.

Jones – who scored the winner against Everton in round three of the FA Cup – skippered the team despite only celebrating his 19th birthday last Thursday.