Slot must boldly drop Liverpool’s “special” talent

Liverpool meet West Ham United on the London Stadium this night as Arne Slot seems to say one other victory within the Premier League. First-placed and flying, the Reds have been rampant this season.

Nonetheless, West Ham have a degree to show after a disappointing begin to life beneath Julen Lopetegui however have hit a level of excellent kind in current weeks, unbeaten throughout their previous 4 top-flight fixtures (two wins, two attracts).

Whereas Liverpool have received ten of their previous 12 matches towards the Hammers in all competitions, they drew on the London Stadium final time period in a heated contest that noticed tempers flare between Mohamed Salah and outgoing supervisor Jurgen Klopp.

Slot will demand cooler heads, however the concord woven collectively inside this Reds group is bound to stay intact and places the guests in an amazing place to proceed their unimaginable title-chasing marketing campaign.

Liverpool group information

Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley will not be risked in east London, however each are in rivalry to return towards Manchester United subsequent weekend. The defenders have been sidelined for the reason that starting of December.

In midfield, Slot will not be capable to name upon the tireless power of Dominik Szoboszlai, for the Hungarian has been suspended for one match after selecting up his fifth yellow card of the yr through the Boxing Day victory over Leicester Metropolis.

Up entrance, Liverpool is likely to be tempted to unleash an unchanged line, however given the duty at hand, Slot is likely to be tempted to drop two members.

Slot should boldly drop Cody Gakpo

Salah, in fact, will retain his beginning spot on the best wing, trying to proceed his staggering kind this season, notching 19 objectives and 15 assists throughout 25 appearances.

Nonetheless, Darwin Nunez didn’t take command at quantity 9 on Boxing Day regardless of loads of huff and puff. He introduced power and impetus, however Liverpool want Diogo Jota for this one.

Jota has been lowered to off-the-bench roles since getting back from damage this month, with Liverpool’s coaches cautious of his health file.

He must be match sufficient for a beginning function now although. With 9 victories from ten matches towards West Ham, the Portugal ahead may very well be the difference-maker, bringing a medical edge that Nunez merely does not possess. As per FBref, Jota truly ranks among the many prime 15% of forwards throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues over the previous yr for objectives scored per 90.

If Jota is to start out up prime, Liverpool’s Dutch coach would possibly need to boldly drop the in-form Cody Gakpo too. The 25-year-old has scored 4 objectives throughout his previous seven Premier League begins however Luis Diaz is likely to be preferable to make sure Jota’s possibilities of scoring are maximised.

As soon as hailed for his “particular skillset” by Pep Lijnders, Gakpo has been a revelation this season, taking the positives from his season-and-a-half beneath Klopp’s wing and enjoying virtually completely on the left flank this yr, one thing that has sharpened his goalscoring edge after which some.

In fact, he might thrive alongside Jota on the London Stadium, however Liverpool might do with Diaz’s electrical energy and multi-faceted risk.

The Colombian’s hardly a non-existent objective risk himself, bagging seven objectives from 11 league fixtures this season.

Such thrilling depth is a mirrored image of Liverpool’s devastating frontline, as lethal as it’s deep. Slot’s success has been largely right down to Diaz and Gakpo having the ability to rotate and assault issues with their very own distinct formulation.

No matter Slot picks, Liverpool will really feel they’ve what it takes to finish the job, however Diaz is likely to be the higher man for the job at the moment.

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