Liverpool are away to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and Paul Merson believes that both Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez should be included in the starting lineup, with Cody Gakpo named as one of the players to make way.
The Reds are, as it stands, firmly in the title race in the early phases of the new season, currently second behind Manchester City after their 1-0 win over Southampton earlier today, but would stretch their lead over other title-challengers Arsenal by seven points should they come out victorious against the Gunners, while that would also see them return to the top of the table.
New boss Arne Slot has toyed between Diaz and Gakpo on the left flank all season long, while he has often gone to Diogo Jota to lead the line, though he is ruled out against Arsenal after an upper body injury suffered last weekend in their 2-1 win over Chelsea, which could Nunez get his second start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Merson: Diaz and Nunez Should Start Alongside Salah
Nunez has started just one of his five appearances in the league this season
With Jota ruled out of this weekend’s blockbuster contest, Slot may have no other choice but to deploy the Uruguayan striker up front, with all but one of his five appearances in the league so far coming off the bench, with him notching a goal.
Liverpool’s Striker Comparison – Premier League 2024/25 | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistic | Diogo Jota | Darwin Nunez |
Appearances | 7 | 5 |
Minutes Played | 492 | 197 |
Goals | 2 | 1 |
Assists | 2 | 0 |
Shots Per 90 | 2.55 | 1.82 |
Expected Goals Per 90 | 0.49 | 0.23 |
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, former Arsenal forward turned pundit Merson touts both Luis Diaz and Nunes to enter the starting lineup, alongside the only guaranteed starter, Mohamed Salah, who has once again hit the ground running, having scored five goals and registered five assists in his eight outings so far.
If you’re Liverpool, you could accept a draw but deep down inside, they’ll still be disappointed if they fail to win this game… I think Luis Diaz will join Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez as part of the front-three instead of Cody Gakpo.
Luis Diaz has seen 475 minutes in the league this season, and like Salah, has also got off to a flying start, having recorded five goals and an assist in his eight appearances, just three goals shy of last season’s total goalscoring tally.
The Colombian winger provides much more of a goalscoring threat than Gakpo, with the Dutchman having failed to score in the league this season, though he does have an assist to his name.
Arsenal have some injury concerns of their own, most notably that of their captain Martin Odegaard, along with the likely absence of Bukayo Saka, which could see former Reds winger Raheem Sterling make only his third start of the league campaign, though early predictions would suggest that Leandro Trossard will get the start instead.
William Saliba is also ruled out through suspension after his red card against Bournemouth last weekend.
All statistics courtesy of FBRef and WhoScored.com – accurate as of 26/10/2024.