Arne Slot gets it wrong with Luis Diaz decision for Liverpool v Brentford
Liverpool manager Arne Slot should not have started Luis Diaz against Brentford on Saturday after he made just one change to his starting XI.
Kostas Tsimikas has replaced Andy Robertson at the Gtech Community Stadium and Diogo Jota misses out with injury which may have saved the Colombia international from being dropped on 18 January.
The Reds are looking to increase their margin at the summit of the Premier League to seven points before Arsenal get a chance to respond later.
However, Slot may have made a mistake starting the 28-year-old after his performance against Nottingham Forest with Darwin Nunez sitting on the bench.
Arne Slot could regret Luis Diaz decision for Liverpool v Brentford
The Reds’ backline is similar to the one that started the 1-1 draw at the City Ground on Tuesday (14 January).
Alisson Becker keeps his place between the sticks with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk also retaining their starting spots with the latter winning all five aerial duels he contested in the midweek clash. [Fotmob]
Robertson has lost his place after a disappointing display in which he made just three passes into the final third and was accurate with just 25 per cent of his eight crosses.
Tsimikas is rewarded for assisting Jota’s equaliser just 22 seconds after entering the pitch and recording an 89 per cent pass accuracy against Forest.
Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai continue in midfield with the latter creating three chances, making eight passes into the final third and having six touches in the opposition box against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Mohamed Salah continues on the right flank, he is looking to bounce back from a rare off-night against Forest where he failed to notch a goal contribution but still had five shots and created four chances.
Cody Gakpo keeps his place on the left-hand side after creating four chances and taking three shots with one on target on Tuesday.
Paul Merson called Diaz “terrible” against Forest as he failed to record a shot on target and won just 33 per cent of his ground duels, with his night summed up when Gakpo was through on goal but he waited too long to play the ball.
He was backed by many to be dropped for Jota to end the number nine experiment but the Portuguese forward’s injury woes have given him a reprieve.
Nunez will feel rather hard done by as Slot could have gone with a more natural and physical presence up front had the Uruguayan been given the nod.
In other Liverpool news, Reds fans have urged the club to sell one star after his latest fitness woes.
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