Football’s back for those of a Liverpool persuasion, and it’s a big one at that.
Having sat out last weekend due to an early exit from the FA Cup, Arne Slot’s Liverpool return to action in the Premier League as they host resurgent Everton.
The international break is typically a gruelling thing, stunting progress and halting anticipation as teams fight for their respective goals. Liverpool, however, may have found the sojourn to have been a blessing, falling in the Champions League before losing the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
Ah well, there’s always next season – for those honours, anyway. Liverpool are still hunting down the Premier League title, 12 points clear of second-place Arsenal with nine matches to play.
Everton have been reborn under David Moyes’ wing, the Scotsman replacing Sean Dyche in January and crafting a nine-match unbeaten run after losing his league opener to Aston Villa at Goodison Park.
24/25
Goodison Park
2-2 draw
23/24
Goodison Park
2-0 loss
23/24
Anfield
2-0 win
22/23
Anfield
2-0 win
22/23
Goodison Park
0-0 draw
Everton’s patch of Merseyside was left giddy, exalted, after James Tarkowski hit parity in the dying embers last month, but Slot will hope for a different outcome here as his side look to end their dip in form across recent matches.
Liverpool team news
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who looks set to join Real Madrid when his contract expires this summer, is still sidelined after injuring his ankle against Paris Saint-Germain.
Compounding the issue, Conor Bradley is not quite ready to return to the starting line-up after his period of convalescence; with Joe Gomez also out, Slot is likely to pick Jarell Quansah to deputise at right-back once again.
Ryan Gravenberch and Alisson Becker, however, are both expected to be fit following respective scares for their nations over the past two weeks.
This is all well and good, but Liverpool’s recent issues derive from a dried-up pool of attacking fluency. Indeed, Liverpool have been a day late and a dollar short of late, and fans online have been murmuring about freshening things up with a tactical tweak to the frontline.
However, Federico Chiesa may not be the answer for this one, not in Slot’s mind.
Slot must unleash Liverpool's "special" forward
Liverpool struggled to get going at Wembley, but it was substitute Chiesa who latched onto Harvey Elliott’s tidy through ball in stoppage time to spark fleeting hopes of a comeback.
But Liverpool failed to stage the desired response; time had been exhausted. Chiesa, however, did show off a glimpse of the quality that prompted the Anfield side to pay Juventus for him back in August, a quality that is illuminated given the ongoing profligacy of Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
The international break will hopefully have served as a reset button for the wasteful bunch, but it more importantly means a fully-fit Cody Gakpo is ready to return from Netherlands duty brim-full, having only just returned from injury before the break and indeed last starting a Premier League fixture in mid-February.
It’s been a big blow for the Merseysiders, for Gakpo has been in fine fettle this season, scoring 16 goals and providing six assists across all competitions. The 25-year-old is currently level with last term’s haul, but he’s matched it in over 800 fewer minutes across all fronts.
Gakpo has to start against Everton, his clinical shooting giving rise to the success of his frontal peers. Diaz’s makeshift dynamism in a central striking role, for example, is heightened by the Dutchman’s presence, easing the goalscoring burden on Salah.
1.
Mohamed Salah
15
2.
Cody Gakpo
12
3.
Luis Diaz
7
4.
Diogo Jota
4
5.
Darwin Nunez
3
5=
Dominik Szoboszlai
3
5=
Alexis Mac Allister
3
The table above makes for somewhat grim reading, with Liverpool’s lopsided frontline clear through the shooting success clinched on home turf.
However, it does highlight Gakpo’s confidence on home soil, scoring three-quarters of his strikes this year at Anfield. Indeed, the Netherlands star has actually bagged in each of his past eight starts at Liverpool’s home ground.
His quality has been streamlined by Slot’s decision to field him in a more structured role off the left flank, as opposed to Jurgen Klopp’s choice of deploying across myriad points of the pitch.
This, of course, has meant Diaz’s qualities have been required in a more central position, but since Gakpo is now fit and ready to fire once more, would it really be wise to unleash Chiesa from the outset in an important derby fixture?
The stakes are high. With Arsenal narrowing the gap after beating Fulham, Liverpool cannot afford to fumble at this stage. The need for Chiesa’s finishing is effectively neutered by Gakpo’s return as he restores the balance and balance of potency up top.
The £120k-per-week Gakpo, after all, ranks among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this term for goals scored per 90 (0.51), as per FBref. It’s no wonder he’s been praised by Fabrizio Romano for “flying for Liverpool this season.”
Conversely, Chiesa has struggled to buy a game. Though he’s posted two goals and two assists apiece across 11 matches in all competitions – just three starts – Slot has thus far been unwilling to hand him any starting roles in the Premier League, and that’s not going to change in an important league fixture against heated rivals Everton, who are in hot form at that.
While we’d all like to see Liverpool’s nifty Italian earn some more action, it doesn’t feel probable that he will play from the opening bell in this one.
That said, if Gakpo can work toward establishing a healthy lead for Slot’s team, Chiesa could surely enter the fray in the second half – and with a point to prove.
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