DREAM TEAM managers have been left sweating over the fitness of Liverpool’s most-prominent forwards.
Diogo Jota (£4.3m) is expected to be sidelined for “months” after incurring a bad knee injury against Brentford on Saturday.
Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) was also prematurely substituted against the Bees and while that decision was thought to be precautionary, the Uruguayan No9 is a major doubt for tonight’s game against Luton.
As is Mohamed Salah (£6.7m), who played more minutes than initially planned at the Gtech Community Stadium because of the aforementioned injuries.
“It is day by day,” Jurgen Klopp said of the Egyptian superstar. “It’s a similar area where he feels it [fatigue] a little bit. We have to see how it develops.”
It may the case that both Nunez and Salah skip this evening’s fixture to ensure their participation in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
At the time of writing, Salah is by far and away the most transferred-in player ahead of Gameweek 25, a reaction to his impressive return – he scored and assisted against Thomas Frank’s side.
Gaffers are split on Nunez, however, as the 24-year-old is currently among the most-popular recruits and the most transferred-out assets.
With Jota ruled out and considerable uncertainty elsewhere, it may be the case that Luis Diaz (£3.8m) offers the smartest, safest route into Liverpool’s productive attack.
The Colombian winger has fewer total points than Salah, Nunez and Jota but his tally of 149 is more than respectable.
Plus, he’s categorised as a midfielder even though he exclusively plays in the front three.
Diaz has scored nine goals and provided six assists in all competitions this season and only five players in his position have registered more shots on target.
Most importantly, he’s guaranteed plenty of minutes on the pitch while Klopp manages Nunez and Salah’s workloads, not that he’s been lacking in that department.
It’s a particularly good time to back Diaz for other reasons as well.
Liverpool are one of just two teams (Brighton being the other) with three consecutive double Gameweeks ahead of them – more fixtures equals more point-scoring opportunities.
Additionally, the former Porto man has been in fine form of late.
He racked up 47 points via three goals and three assists across seven outings since the start of Gameweek 20.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League table, not to mention the division’s top scorers, and with the Europa League round of 16 set to commence in Gameweek 26 most gaffers will be seeking suitable representation.
Diaz therefore fits the bill nicely, even in conjunction with Salah and/or Nunez if the forwards are fully available.
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