It’s fair to say that Liverpool have a wealth of attacking options which’d be the envy of virtually every other club in world football.
Following Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Southampton, the Reds’ six senior forwards had scored 43 goals between them in total this season (Transfermarkt), and that includes the barely-seen and hitherto scoreless Federico Chiesa.
With the Italian arriving at Anfield in August to bolster an attack which already contained Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, the choice available to Arne Slot presents a rather pleasant selection headache.
Just like choosing the best crypto eSports site, the level of competition for places in Liverpool’s forward line is abundant, but which trio would comprise the Reds’ optimum attacking unit?
Starting with the position which picks itself, this particular starting berth is essentially the sole property of Salah, who’s been banging in the goals this season even amid the ongoing situation as to whether or not he’ll agree a new contract at Liverpool.
Having netted 16 times for himself and provided 13 goals, the numbers are self-explanatory when it comes to his consistent selection.
Even with Chiesa now back from injury, he’ll probably be largely reliant for minutes off the bench or an opportunity elsewhere in the forward line, aside from the rare occasion when the Egyptian King might be rested.
We can only imagine how many goals a consistenly fit Jota would have for Liverpool by now…
Sidelined for almost two months with a muscle injury, the 28-year-old marked his comeback last weekend with a typically clinical equaliser to salvage a point against Fulham, his fifth goal of the season from just 691 minutes of game-time.
In contrast to the Portuguese star’s sharp-shooting reputation, Nunez has struggled in that regard in recent months, with a paltry four goals in 21 appearances totalling 1,148 minutes on the pitch. The Uruguayan can never be faulted for effort, but his scoring numbers simply need to be better for a £64m centre-forward.
When both are available to Slot, it’d be difficult to look past Jota as the preferred starter, even with the 25-year-old getting back on the scoresheet against Southampton.
The third and final starting berth in Liverpool’s attack is probably the hardest one to decide, with both Diaz and Gakpo impressing this season.
Those two wingers have nine goals each for the campaign so far, with the Dutchman’s output the more efficient of the duo, having been tallied in 155 minutes fewer than the Reds’ number 7.
Diaz reached five Premier League goals by mid-September after scoring twice against Bournemouth, but he hasn’t netted in the top flight since then, with three of his subsequent four strikes coming in a virtuoso performance against Bayer Leverkusen.
Conversely, Gakpo had scored only twice before the clocks went back in late October but has hit seven goals in his last 11 appearances, conveniently atoning for the Colombian’s decrease in output.
On form we’d go with the ex-PSV Eindhoven winger on the left, but we wouldn’t have any complaints about Slot picking either of these two.
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