Liverpool are set to host Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday afternoon as they aim to return to winning ways after a shock 1-0 to Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s second-half goal condemned Arne Slot to his first defeat as Reds boss as his players failed to produce the good at Anfield.
However, they did make amends in the UEFA Champions League as they put AC Milan to the sword with a clinical 3-1 win at the San Siro thanks to goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.
While a handful of players were at their best for Liverpool in Italy, Cody Gakpo made arguably the biggest impression as he delivered a fantastic display on his first start of the new season.
And Paul Merson feels the Dutch international should keep his place in the team for the visit of the Cherries.
Paul Merson wants Cody Gakpo to start over Luis Diaz for Liverpool
Gakpo didn’t get his name on the scoresheet for Liverpool against Milan but was a constant thorn in the flesh of the opposition defenders with his relentless running.
His standout moment of the game arrived in the second half as his brilliant run and cutback allowed Szoboszlai to put the ball into an almost empty net for the third goal of the game.
Luis Diaz has started each of Liverpool’s four Premier League games so far and has already scored thrice, but Merson believes Gakpo should occupy the left flank against Bournemouth after his ‘brilliant’ showing against Milan.
“Arne Slot has to play Cody Gakpo in this fixture,” Merson wrote in his column for Sportskeeda.
“I thought he was brilliant in the win over Milan. He also performed so well at the Euros, but we haven’t seen the same from him at Liverpool.
The Arsenal legend wants Gakpo to perform for Liverpool the way he has for the Netherlands over the years, adding that the Bournemouth defenders won’t be thrilled by the prospect of coming up against him.
Merson added: “Gakpo was going past people for fun and making the right decisions at Euro 2024.
“I’d be shocked if he doesn’t start and as a Bournemouth player I wouldn’t want to face him.”
Clarence Seedorf seemingly echoed Merson’s thoughts as he claimed he’d like to see Gakpo replicate his Netherlands form for Liverpool in a more central role.
Slot likely to pick Diaz over Gakpo against Milan
Gakpo earned rave reviews from Alan Shearer for his performance against Milan as he emerged as arguably Liverpool’s best player at the San Siro.
He will look to keep his place in the team, but the fact of the matter is that Diaz has also enjoyed a good start to the new campaign, leaving Slot with a bit of a selection headache.
The Dutchman hasn’t tinkered much with his starting XI, with Liverpool using the same team for each of their last Premier League encounters.
It remains to be seen who Slot picks between Diaz and Gakpo but these are the kind of problems he’ll relish having as Liverpool prepare to play 11 games between now and the next international break in mid-November.
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