Liverpool return to Premier League action tomorrow afternoon when they take on Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
The Reds come into the game on the back of a 6-1 win over Leeds United on Monday night. Jurgen Klopp’s side had not won since putting seven unanswered goals past Manchester United at the start of March, but ruthlessly dismantled Javi Gracia's hapless side at Elland Road.
Doubles from Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota helped the Reds move within three points of sixth-placed Aston Villa, while fourth-placed Newcastle United are currently nine points ahead of Klopp’s side.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Klopp revealed that Roberto Firmino is set to miss Liverpool’s next three games due to a muscle injury, but apart from the Brazilian, the Reds boss has no new injury concerns.
One suspects that Alisson Becker will again start in goal for Liverpool, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Andy Robertson making up the back four.
However, moving forward is where things get interesting; not only does Klopp have options in midfield, but he also has them in attack, especially after both Thiago Alcantara and Luis Diaz came off the bench against Leeds.
But it is hard to imagine that Klopp won’t start both Curtis Jones, who has enjoyed three successive starts during an injury-plagued campaign of his own, and Jordan Henderson, while Thiago could well come in for Fabinho if the Reds are looking to freshen things up in the middle of the park.
Jota ended a 372-day wait for a Liverpool goal when he netted his first against Leeds earlier this week, and it is hard to imagine that he will drop down to the bench for the game. The same also applies to Salah, who has been the only forward consistently picked by Klopp this season.
Which leaves one place up for grabs. Speaking on Friday afternoon, Klopp hinted at why he has left Darwin Nunez out of Liverpool’s starting XI in recent weeks. The Uruguayan came off the bench to score in the 6-1 victory over Leeds United on Monday, but the trip to Elland Road was the third time the striker found himself used as a substitute in the Reds’ last four games.
"This is a long-term project," he said. "I understand that he wants to play desperately from the beginning. That’s all fine. But we have to find for us a way that it works really for us again.
"And then we have to fit in the players that we can really use the specific strengths as well. I am completely fine with the situation but I understand that Darwin is not always fine. But it’s not that he smiles in my face when he realises that he will not start. ‘Oh thank you, boss.’
"It’s not like that but it’s absolutely fine. That’s how we have to deal with the situation. When we have five or six players available upfront, I have to make decisions. That’s good. That’s good and that’s how it should be. And then we’ll see.
"The boys, the door is miles open. The more sessions we have, the more sessions you have to show up.
"He came on (vs Leeds) and was exceptional. He was exceptional. Not only the goal he scored, before that as well. He was absolutely exceptional. It was exactly the right way.
"Everybody who came on was on fire. That’s what we need. We have five games in two weeks and Darwin will start games, definitely."
Nunez has predominantly been used on the left wing by Klopp since the mid-season World Cup in Qatar, having lined up his preferred central attacking role for the majority of the first half of the season.
And one suspects it will be a straight shootout between him and Cody Gakpo, which starts tomorrow afternoon. Even though the Dutchman has impressed in recent weeks, tomorrow could be the day Klopp unleashes Nunez.
Predicted line-up: Liverpool (3-2-2-3): Alisson; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Henderson, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Jota.
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