Slot could replace Gakpo by starting Liverpool star in fresh role

Elation turned to deflation as Liverpool conceded a last-gasp goal in the Merseyside Derby on Wednesday evening, James Tarkowski firing beyond Alisson to salvage a point in the final clash between the Reds and Everton at Goodison Park.

However, that was Liverpool’s game in hand, originally slated for December but called off due to Storm Darragh, and so the point gained moved Liverpool seven points clear of second-place Arsenal, who closed the gap to four points on Saturday after beating Leicester City.

Liverpool can restore their commanding lead at the summit of the Premier League with an Anfield victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon. On paper, this is a winnable fixture for the hosts, but the Old Gold are only marginally above the drop zone and defeated Aston Villa in their last top-flight outing.

While Liverpool will be confident that they have enough to turn their guests over, Arne Slot does have to contend with a number of injuries.

Liverpool expecting absentees

Wednesday’s frenetic Merseyside clash could call for Slot to make one or two alterations, especially with a quick turnaround needed ahead of the coming midweek trip to Villa Park.

Curtis Jones is ineligible for this one after his part in the post-match ruckus at Goodison, resulting in a second booking from referee Michael Oliver. Slot has been charged, but the ongoing judiciary process means that he’s expected to be in the dugout this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold will be looking to return to the starting line-up after a fitness issue, replacing Conor Bradley.

Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton remain sidelined, though the former isn’t too far away from returning to first-team training.

Should Gakpo be sidelined for this one, Slot will need to find a way to maintain the overall fluency of the thriving frontline. Luckily, Liverpool aren’t exactly bereft of options.

The players who could replace Cody Gakpo

The most obvious pick to replace Gakpo on the left flank is Luis Diaz. After all, the Colombian is a winger, only featuring in a false-nine kind of focal role this season due to Slot’s dissatisfaction with the likes of Darwin Nunez, who has six goals from 33 matches.

Whether Nunez is presented with a starting berth remains to be seen, but the Uruguayan has suffered patchy form throughout the whole of the campaign and Slot seems more at ease unleashing the 25-year-old in the late stages, using his pace and energy to pick leggy defences apart.

Diaz is a player who goes through waves of potent form, but he has demonstrated through multi-goal performances against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League that he can bag from the middle. The Colombian’s game is also more than just that of a goalscorer, with slick movement and intelligent decisions enabling the free-scoring success of the likes of Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.

Slot knows what he’s doing, and if he wishes to keep Diaz at centre-forward, an interesting change might be to unleash Diogo Jota on the left flank with the view toward emulating Gakpo’s prolificness.

While Salah is tearing Europe apart with so many goals and assists, there’s a sense that the 32-year-old talisman is shouldering a heavy burden. Diaz, for example, has gone five Premier League matches without a single goal involvement.

However, Gakpo has been thriving, bagging in seven straight Anfield appearances.

This is why Jota could be so important for the home side, especially with the added incentive to impress against his former outfit, who Liverpool paid £41m for in 2020.

A “deadly” finisher in the final third, as has been said by BBC analyst Raj Chohan, Jota ranks among the top 13% of Premier League forwards in 2024/25 for goals scored (0.71), as per FBref, also among the top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 4% for progressive carries per 90.

This perfectly illustrates the Portugal international’s innate goalscoring sense and his athleticism, deceptively tricky on the ball and endowed with the positional sense that the likes of Salah and Diaz can use to find him with crisp passes or confusing movements, creating space.

One of Jota’s superpowers is his effortless ability to provide across the frontline. He’s capable with both feet and surprisingly adept in the air too. Slot tends to deploy him up front but with 85 goal involvements from 178 matches on the left wing, Jota is hardly untested in that area.

It goes to show that Liverpool have such impressive strength in depth and surely have enough to put this afternoon’s visitors to the sword. Jota, for sure, will be eager to make his mark after missing much action over the past few months due to injury.

The caveat to all this is that the 28-year-old, who was hailed as one of the team’s most “clinical” players by Jamie Carragher, doesn’t boast the finest of records against the Molineux side. He’s won all seven of fixtures against Wolves but has only scored once, supplying two assists.

However, with 64 Liverpool goals and 21 further assists from just 104 starting appearances since making the move to Merseyside, Jota is an invariably dangerous presence in the final third with the ball-carrying skill and sharp awareness to step into Gakpo’s boots and provide the left side with the assuredness needed to lessen Salah’s load.

Liverpool need to bounce back from the setback at Everton, and with a victory over Wolves, fans will be excited by having stepped one place closer to lifting the Premier League title for the first time under Slot’s wing.

Wouldn’t it be quite something?

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