Liverpool have a chance to immediately bounce back from their shocking defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup as they prepare to face Everton this evening.
The Reds are set to travel to Goodison Park for a Premier League clash tonight and they will be hoping for a much-improved performance after they lost 1-0 to a Championship side on Sunday.
It will be the last match between the two teams at Goodison Park, now that both teams are out of the FA Cup, and Liverpool will want a better result than they managed in their last trip to the stadium.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were beaten 2-0 by the Toffees last April, with Sean Dyche in charge of the opposition at the time, but there are now two different managers in the dugout.
Arne Slot is up against David Moyes for the first time in his Liverpool career and will be hoping to get one over the Scottish tactician, whilst also ruining Everton’s Goodison Park farewell in the final Merseyside derby at the ground.
In order to have the best chance of success against the Blues this evening, the Dutch head coach must ruthlessly ditch the underperformers from the defeat to Plymouth.
The Liverpool players who should be dropped against Everton
It was a much-changed Liverpool XI that took to the field at Pride Park as the likes of Trey Nyoni, James McConnell, Harvey Elliott, and Wataru Endo were handed a chance to impress.
Unfortunately, none of those players seemed to improve their chances of making the Premier League starting line-up on a regular basis, as they failed to make much of an impact against the second tier outfit.
Slot did make changes to his front three for the game but all three of the stars who came in – Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz – are senior internationals who should be expected to perform against a team, with all due respect, of Plymouth’s stature.
Unfortunately, none of them stepped up to bail Liverpool out of a disappointing team performance with a moment of quality to change the game. Instead, they all struggled and left a lot to be desired from their respective displays.
Minutes
90
90
90
Shots on target
0
1
0
Big chances created
0
0
1
Possession lost
14x
16x
29x
Pass accuracy
84%
39%
66%
As you can see in the table above, the trio managed one shot on target and one ‘big chance’ created between them in 90 minutes, which is nowhere near good enough against a Championship team for players who want to be starting in a team that is top of the Premier League.
Chalkboard
Chiesa’s display, despite creating a ‘big chance’, was particularly frustrating. Losing possession 29 times without registering a shot on target or an assist shows that he was far too sloppy on the ball and not sharp enough to make a significant impact in the final third.
Therefore, Slot must drop the players who came into the side and failed to stake a claim for their position in the starting XI for this clash with Everton, including the Italian winger.
Federico Chiesa's form this season
Liverpool swooped to sign the Italy international from Juventus in a deal that could rise to £12.5m last summer, as the only addition of the window.
Chiesa is the only signing, in fact, of the Slot era so far and it is fair to say that his move to Anfield has not gone to plan, as the forward has struggled in his first seven months on Merseyside.
As you can see in the clips above, the 27-year-old dynamo arrived at Anfield after showcasing his quality in front of goal during his time with Juventus in his home country, scoring some fantastic goals for the Old Lady.
Chiesa missed 14 games between September and December with a muscle injury and that has disrupted his start to life in England, but his performances – Plymouth included – when available have also not been good enough.
Appearances (starts)
3 (0)
Goals + assists
0
Big chances missed
1
Big chances created
0
Key passes
0
Duel success rate
14%
As you can see in the table above, the Italy international has only made three appearances in the Premier League, and struggled in his cameos, and Slot must instantly ditch him to bring Mo Salah back into the side.
Mo Salah could ruin Goodison Park farewell
The Dutch head coach must unleash the Egypt international from the start for tonight’s clash with Everton because he has the quality to ruin Everton’s Goodison Park farewell tour.
Salah’s form in the Premier League so far this season, and throughout his career, shows that he can be the difference-maker for the Reds at the top end of the pitch if he starts ahead of Chiesa on the right flank.
The “extraordinary”, as he has been described by Slot, star has racked up a staggering haul of 21 goals and 13 assists in the top-flight so far this term – leading the Premier League for both goals and assists.
Salah has made a consistent and huge impact in the final third for Slot with his ability to score and create goals at an incredible rate, which is why he has a great chance of firing the Reds to another win this evening.
23/24 (Goodison Park)
0
0
23/24 (Anfield)
2
0
22/23 (Anfield)
1
0
22/23 (Goodison Park)
0
0
21/22 (Anfield)
0
1
21/22 (Goodison Park)
2
0
20/21 (Anfield)
0
0
20/21 (Goodison Park)
1
0
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed dynamo has also scored three goals in his last four trips to Goodison Park, and has netted seven in his last eight meetings with the Toffees.
Going back even further, the 32-year-old sensation won the Puskas award for his extraordinary solo goal against Everton at Anfield back in 2018.
Salah knows how to produce moments of magic in a Liverpool shirt and against Everton, specifically, and that is why he has to start on the right wing this evening, to ensure that the Toffees do not have any happy memories of the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
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