Liverpool continued their fine start to the 2023/24 season with a solid win over West Ham United in the Premier League last weekend, running out 3–1 victors.
The result has the club sitting second in the league table, just two points behind Manchester City, and it looks as though their 2022/23 campaign was just a blip as Jurgen Klopp has certainly rejuvenated the side over the summer.
The Reds face Leicester City this evening in the EFL Cup at Anfield, and they will hope to continue their momentum with a win over the Championship outfit and progress into the fourth round.
What’s the Liverpool team news vs Leicester City?
Klopp will likely rotate his starting XI for the match this evening, especially with the hectic schedule they have over the next few weeks and this could see some youngsters potentially coming into the team.
Assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders spoke prior to the match regarding this, saying: “Of course we will make changes but we want to put our game into place, we want to be dominant, we want to be in their half of the pitch.
“I think always we proved already that we are using the squad and that’s something in this season that is really important to feel and to understand: this group of players, when they are all healthy, when they are all hungry, when they feel that they all at each moment can be used, they all find a certain development on their own, they are becoming better [no matter] how old they are.
“If we create these three or four things in the squad you know that success comes much closer, so we really search for that and we play every two or three days at the moment so we need to use freshness, we need to use hunger, we need to use the boys who really want to show, as we always did. But we are not just here about giving debuts, we are here to develop.”
This suggests the likes of Ben Doak and Jarell Quansah could gain more minutes in the first team as they continue their development, while a few of the senior figures at the club could drop to the bench, one of those being Luis Diaz.
Will Luis Diaz start for Liverpool against Leiscter City?
With games coming thick and fast in the coming weeks, Klopp will want to keep his star performers fresh and this could mean a rest for the likes of Diaz this evening.
The Colombian has become yet another wonderful signing for Klopp since joining the Anfield side in January 2022. He had an immediate impact, scoring six goals and grabbing five assists across his first 26 matches, while winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup in this period.
The winger missed 31 matches last term due to a knee injury suffered in October which stalled his progress slightly, but he has bounced back well during the current campaign, netting twice in six league matches so far.
The 26-year-old ranks third across the whole squad for shots on target per game (0.7) while also ranking fifth for key passes (1.2) and third for successful dribbles (1.2) per game too, indicating that he is returning to the form he displayed in his first six months at the club.
With tougher tasks ahead, the German should give Diaz a rest this evening and deploy another player who is returning to form of late – Diogo Jota.
How good has Diogo Jota been for Liverpool this season?
The Portuguese winger is now into his fourth season at the Reds and despite facing competition from the likes of Diaz and Darwen Nunez, Jota is still thriving when given an opportunity in the starting XI.
He has registered 60 goal contributions across just 119 matches, which works out at a goal involvement every two matches and this type of ratio is impressive.
He missed a large chunk of football last term due to a few injury problems, including a calf injury which saw him miss out on the 2022 World Cup, yet he still managed seven goals and eight assists in just 28 matches.
Jota was even hailed by his former teammate Conor Coady back in 2019, who dubbed him “a sensational footballer” due to his performances for Wolverhampton Wanderers, and he has certainly carried this into his Liverpool career.
The former Wolves man has enjoyed a resurgence this term as he currently ranks fifth in the squad for successful dribbles (one) and second for goal frequency (scores every 132 minutes), certainly giving Klopp a major selection headache.
When compared to positional peers, Jota is also displaying some impressive numbers across a range of attacking metrics. According to FBref, he currently ranks in the top 3% among positionally similar players in Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.52) and the top 3% for assists per 90 (0.41) while ranking in the top 12% for touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 (6.09). Indeed, it’s evident that he gives Klopp that extra attacking edge, whether it's from the first whistle or coming off the bench during a match.
The winger only played nine minutes during the 3-1 win against West Ham last weekend, replacing Diaz, yet he made an immediate impact by scoring their third goal and securing all three points for the Anfield side.
During his brief time on the pitch, the £140k-per-week forward managed to take two shots, nine touches and was accurate with his one long pass and there is no doubt he will be fresh and raring to go should he be given a chance against the Foxes this evening.
Resting Diaz would be the sensible thing to do for Klopp, especially when he already has a more than adequate replacement in Jota waiting for another chance to showcase his abilities.
The chance to make up for a trophy-less season last term will surely drive the former Borussia Dortmund manager into picking a lineup combining both experience and youth which will not only win the tie, but show the manager just how impressive his squad depth really is heading into a hectic few weeks.