Credit: Imago

Zak Anderton

Fri 28 February 2025 17:30, UK

Arne Slot must try his luck against PSG in their upcoming Champions League game and make a bold call about his front three.

The Reds have been one of the most dominant forces in world football this season with the Merseyside outfit managing to top the Champions League table after only losing one game against PSV.

However, one major problem area within their squad this term has been their number nine with the likes of Mohamed Salah having to make up for the shortcomings of his teammates more than once.

While that’s all well and good for the odd game here and there, the fact that the Egypt international has contributed to 52 goals this season shows that he’s been relied upon far too much.

Cody Gakpo must start for Liverpool against PSG

This is why in the Reds’ upcoming Champions League game against the Ligue 1 side, Slot needs to start Cody Gakpo as striker.

The Dutchman is arguably the second-most clinical of Liverpool’s attackers and from the performances he’s put in this season, he seems to be the best option of the lot to give the Merseyside outfit the best chance of beating Luis Enrique’s men.

Unlike Salah, Gakpo hasn’t been one of Slot’s first names on his teamsheet this season with players such as Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz often taking his place in the starting XI.

However, due to the poor form they’ve both shown when played as strikers, Gakpo seems to be the best option.

And, as per Sofascore, it’s clear to see the impact he had on the game against Newcastle when he was brought on for Jota in the 62nd minute.

In the 28 minutes he was on the pitch, Gakpo had 20 touches of the ball and maintained a pass accuracy of 92 per cent.

He also generated an xG of 0.52 and successfully completed 100 per cent of the dribbles he attempted.

The attacker’s defensive work was also fairly solid with the Dutchman winning 66 per cent of his ground duels while also clearing the ball once and successfully carrying out a tackle.

Gakpo is the player Slot needs to beat PSG

While most of Liverpool’s attacking movements will likely go through Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah, it wouldn’t hurt matters much to have Gakpo up front with them.

The former PSV man has a keen eye for a goal and judging from the amount of accurate passes he made against Newcastle last time out, he could chip in with an assist or two.

Slot will likely look towards starting Jota, Nunez or Diaz upfront instead of Gakpo but after the latter of the three was played in his natural position against Eddie Howe’s men, the difference in his performance was night and day.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Gakpo but if Slot wants to make a wildcard decision and use him as his number nine, it wouldn’t be the worst of ideas.