The objective is simple: emerge from Goodison Park with three points.
Liverpool have been near-perfect in the Premier League this season and will move nine points clear at the top of the table with a win against Everton this evening.
The Toffees are missing a range of first-team players but have won three league games on the bounce with David Moyes at the helm and have only lost one of their past five Goodison Park meetings with the Reds.
They are much improved, and so Liverpool will need to bring their a-game to a match that promises fireworks in some format.
Liverpool team news vs Everton
Slot made ten changes as Liverpool suffered an embarrassing defeat against the Championship’s bottom side Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Sunday, but normal service, on the selection front, will be resumed here.
That said, Joe Gomez is sidelined and Trent Alexander-Arnold is a doubt. Should the coveted right-back be unable to start, Conor Bradley will be more than happy to take his place.
However, the crux of Liverpool’s shameful weekend defeat lay with the bluntness of the attack. It’s clear that Slot needs to enforce wholesale rotation on that front.
Cody Gakpo has been awarded Liverpool’s Player of the Month for January and is set to take the left-wing spot from Luis Diaz, but he’s not the only star set to be demoted to the bench.
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Liverpool will be up against a stentorian Everton crowd this evening, encompassing the visiting Reds with a hostile din, seeking to suffocate them.
Slot must get his selection right. Ryan Gravenberch will be joined by Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield, but Diaz isn’t likely to be the only forward returned to the bench for this one.
Indeed, Darwin Nunez may get the nod ahead of Diogo Jota, who flattered to deceive against Plymouth. Jota was remarked to have “looked unfit” by one Reds content creator..
Federico Chiesa huffed and puffed on the right flank to no avail, but the Italian was always going to be replaced by the free-scoring Mohamed Salah no matter how he played.
Jota and Diaz, however, should have taken the Home Park game by the scruff of the neck, both seasoned veterans in Liverpool’s first team.
|
Plymouth 1-0 Liverpool – Luis Diaz & Diogo Jota |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Match Stats |
Diaz |
Jota |
|
Minutes played |
90′ |
90′ |
|
Goals |
0 |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
0 |
|
Touches |
61 |
31 |
|
Shots (on target) |
0 (0) |
1 (1) |
|
Passes completed |
37/44 (84%) |
7/18 (39%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
0 |
|
Possession lost |
14x |
16x |
|
Dribbles (completed) |
2 (2) |
3 (1) |
|
Total duels (won) |
9 (4) |
17 (5) |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see, neither enjoyed any success against a resilient defence, and you fear that the tough-tackling Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski would relish the chance to attack two out-of-form forwards such as these.
Gakpo’s robustness demands his starting presence, but Nunez could also be a good pick. The Uruguayan striker isn’t the most clinical, sure, but his tenacity and springiness could ruffle the Evertonian feathers and create a more fluent and collectively dangerous frontline.
Jota hardly looked up for the fight at the weekend and may be better off deployed in the latter stages, should Liverpool still be searching for a crucial goal.
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle acknowledged that Jota was left to feed off scraps provided by a youthful and uninspiring midfield, but he still lacked the authority and confidence to breach a redoubtable Plymouth backline and was branded with a 5/10 match rating.
Nunez, in contrast, at least brought some impetus, darting around as he does and attempting to wrongfoot defenders. He skewed one angled shot wide and saw a late header expertly tipped over by Conor Hazard.
Slot needs to make the change against an Everton side who would love nothing more than to spoil Liverpool’s Premier League party.
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