Liverpool were a day late and a dollar short against Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday night but can ill-afford to brood over the chastening Anfield defeat, with Crystal Palace travelling to Merseyside for a Premier League showdown this afternoon.
While Liverpool have been restored as title contenders this season following sweeping summer changes to right the lofty wrongs of the 2022/23 campaign, a never-say-die, tenacious attitude has superimposed over residual defensive fragilities.
The Reds have kept just five clean sheets across 22 matches in all competitions in 2024 and have been undone in recent fixtures against Atalanta and Manchester United after inexcusable lapses and mistakes.
This error-strewn streak must now reach its end, lest Liverpool's thrilling finale to the Jurgen Klopp era peter out with bitter disappointment.
Crystal Palace, sitting in 15th place in the league, have not beaten Klopp's Liverpool in 13 attempts but will be eager to capitalise on complacency, especially with several first-team host members still unavailable.
Liverpool team news
Diogo Jota, at least, is in line for a start after returning from the bench against Atalanta on Thursday. The clinical Portugal forward had been sidelined for 12 games after injuring his knee against Brentford in February.
And while Trent Alexander-Arnold is also nearing a return from injury, he is unlikely to find his name on the starting team sheet after spending the lion's share of the calendar year recovering from an issue – though he may well be named as a substitute.
The same could be said for first-choice shot-stopper Alisson Becker, who might be involved but is likely to return to the grass next week.
Stefan Bajcetic returned to action on Friday as Liverpool defeated Manchester United in a U21 fixture, but Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip remain long-term absentees.
Liverpool must unleash Diogo Jota
An element of circumspection will be needed with Jota, but after entering the play in the late stage of the Europa League in midweek Klopp might be convinced to unleash his prolific striker.
As per FBref, Jota ranks among the top 1% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored and tackles, the top 16% for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for progressive carries and the top 3% for touches in the attacking box per 90.
Mohamed Salah
36
23
0.80
112
Darwin Nunez
46
18
0.58
154
Diogo Jota
29
14
0.79
113
Cody Gakpo
46
14
0.51
177
Luis Diaz
43
13
0.39
232
Hailed as a “pressing monster” by assistant manager Pep Lijnders, the 27-year-old is one of the most potent attacking outlets in the Premier League and has scored nine goals from just 13 starting appearances in the top flight this season.
Mohamed Salah is marginally ahead of Jota in prolificness this season but he offers a very different skill set to his Egyptian counterpart and must be unleashed as the central focal point against Palace, sending Darwin Nunez to the bench.
Nunez, while influential and improved this season, has ebbed back toward the wasteful, wayward shooting of the 2022/23 campaign, his first in Liverpool after signing from Benfica in a club-record £85m deal, and has missed a catalogue of recent chances that may well have changed the current narrative quite drastically.
The Uruguayan actually has the worst conversion rate of any player to have been presented with 20+ chances in 2023/24 – as per WhoScored – and Jota could provide the Midas touch needed to steer the season back on course against Palace.
Fitness withstanding, Jota is a crucial inclusion at Anfield, with Harvey Elliott also demanding a return to the outset in the Premier League.
Harvey Elliott's season in numbers
Elliott has only just turned 21 but the versatile midfielder is truly one of the finest prospects around, having been a creative option for Liverpool throughout the course of the campaign and compensating for the host of injuries that had threatened Klopp's team in recent months.
Praised for his "special talent" by The Athletic's James Pearce, Elliott has scored three goals and supplied seven assists for his club this term but has only started six Premier League matches, though he may well be in line for a start today.
In the Premier League, as per Sofascore, the England U21 star has completed 88% of his passes, though his displays in the Europa League, where he has played with the greatest frequency, probably serve as a better gauge of his level.
Across nine fixtures on the continent, Elliott has racked up four assists, completed 85% of his passes, averaged 1.6 key passes, 1.4 tackles and 4.1 ball recoveries per game while succeeding with 71% of his dribbles.
Klopp noted that Wataru Endo looked fatigued against Atalanta so it's likely that Alexis Mac Allister will shift into a deeper-lying central role, opening space for Elliott to move into his favoured midfield role after playing on the wing on Thursday, hitting the bar twice but receiving only a 5/10 match rating from the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle as he struggled to make an impact.
Liverpool have been rinsed of £63m by a flop who earns more than Diaz
This is surely one of the biggest and most costly misfires under Klopp’s leadership.
ByAngus Sinclair Apr 13, 2024
Still, this is hardly his fault and he was one of the better performers on an abject evening, albeit subbed off for Salah at halftime.
Why Liverpool must unleash Harvey Elliott
Rested and raring to go, Elliott is stylistically similar to Dominik Szoboszlai – according to FBref's Player Comparison model – and given the Hungarian's recent struggles Elliott must indeed be handed a starting berth.
The £40k-per-week ace ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for progressive passes and the top 3% for successful take-ons per 90.
Moreover, he's developing a sharp goalscoring sense that Palace keenly felt in the reverse fixture back in December, having performed so well to rebuff Klopp's squad only for substitute Elliott to fire an awesome effort into the back of the net in the dying embers.
He's rarely unleashed from the opening in the Premier League but Elliott is growing into quite the midfielder and he could make a marked impact on Liverpool's fight for three points this afternoon, providing his frontal teammates with creative support, adding a dimension to the centre of the park at a time of great importance for Liverpool's campaign.