Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should finally return against Crystal Palace

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should make his return against Crystal Palace today. The Englishman is yet to play this season after an injury.

Today is the day that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should finally return for Liverpool. We haven’t seen him this season, of course, after he picked up an injury in pre-season.

The Reds really – and we mean really – could have done with him, though. An injury crisis has tore through the team, meaning nearly every player has had a spell out.

That has the knock-on effect of tiring out the players who can play – they can’t afford a rest, after all.

Thus the more first-team, experienced players get back to fitness, the easier Liverpool’s season becomes. £35m Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of the most important, too.

We’ve written before about his value to the team once he does get back on the pitch. His versatility, energy and outright ability make him a perfect squad option.

So with all of that in mind, today is the day for Oxlade-Chamberlain to get back on that pitch.

He’s made the bench for the last couple but circumstances meant Jurgen Klopp didn’t risk him. But against Palace, it just makes complete sense.

There’s a little bit of a break after this one and the game against West Brom on the 27th. That means Oxlade-Chamberlain would have a good amount of time to recover after playing Palace.

He may have a slight knock or strain, after all, as he hasn’t played proper football in quite some time.

But more importantly, it sets him up to play against West Brom or Newcastle United.

Those games come in quick succession and given the injury crisis, Klopp will want to rotate his side as much as possible. Oxlade-Chamberlain comes into that.

Giving him minutes against Palace helps recover his match-fitness and prepares him to play a part in those games – potentially, from the start.

You can add that the starters all played the entire game against Tottenham Hotspur this week, too. Klopp, surely, won’t push them all through another full 90 minutes.

He’ll want to make substitutions and Oxlade-Chamberlain may well be at the top of the list. We certainly think he should be.