Liverpool must ‘take advantage of Jake O’Brien’ after what happened at Everton
Liverpool are banking on a derby win against Everton to bounce back after the international break.
It has been a hard few weeks at Anfield, which has seen the Reds dumped out of the Champions League and lose a League Cup final to Newcastle.
The break arguably came at the best time for Arne Slot and Co. who now have a Merseyside derby to focus on in a return to Premier League action.
If the Dutchman wants to secure a much-needed win, a focus on taking advantage of Jake O’Brien should be taken up in L4.
Liverpool must target Everton defender O’Brien
The Reds have a whole host of attacking talents who haven’t been on the boil in recent weeks.
Even Mohamed Salah has been far from his best but always seems to perform against the Toffees in the Merseyside derby.
It is the forwards on the opposite flanks who haven’t been good enough this season, but he could look to change that against Everton on Wednesday (2 April).
Luiz Diaz could be in line to start against David Moyes’ side and he will be hoping to come up against O’Brien at right back.
The 23-year-old is typically a centre-back but has featured as a right-back since the Scot returned to Goodison Park last month.
Despite getting on the scoresheet last time out, his general performance was poor as he won just one tackle and committed two fouls [FotMob].
This wasn’t helped by the fact that he lost eight duels, winning just two in a 20 per cent win rate, which is far from good enough for a six-foot-six defender.
This could prove to be the perfect opportunity for Diaz to get at the Irishman to finally hit a positive run of form in the Premier League.
Diaz must step up for Liverpool v Everton
The Toffees will pose a threat to Liverpool, as they showed when James Tarkowski slammed home an equaliser at Goodison Park.
Slot was fuming after that draw and will be keen to get revenge over his Merseyside rivals as they welcome the blue side to Anfeld.
The Dutchman will be very keen to see more from Diaz after what has been a poor season by the Colombian’s usual standards.
| Stat (Premier League 24/25) | Luis Diaz |
| Successful crosses | 5 |
| Dribble success (%) | 48.8 |
| Dispossessed | 40 |
| Duels win rate (%) | 37.9 |
Based on O’Brien’s last performance, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to get the best of the former Lyon man in L4 on Wednesday.