Paul Merson explains why there’s no way Arne Slot should start Darwin Nunez for Liverpool against Ipswich

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Liverpool face Ipswich Town on Saturday as they look to keep momentum going.

The Reds are riding on a high after beating Brentford and then Lille in the space of a few days.

At Anfield against relegation candidates Ipswich, Liverpool fans will be confident of yet another win in the Premier League.

Arne Slot will not be getting carried away, though, and the Liverpool head coach will look to get the job done in professional fashion against the Tractor Boys.

In order to do that, Slot rotated plenty of his Liverpool squad during Tuesday’s win over Lille. Most of the big-hitters should be fresh and ready to go.

In our opinion, the teamsheet should once again include Darwin Nunez. After his goals at Brentford and a good performance against Lille, we think Nunez should start versus Ipswich. Unfortunately, though, not everyone appears to agree.

Paul Merson urges Darwin Nunez to be dropped

Nunez has had a difficult season so far, starting only seven of 21 games in the Premier League.

But following such a confidence-sapping run, the 25-year-old should finally have a spring back in his step after some promising displays.

According to pundit Paul Merson, though, Nunez’s ‘incredible cameo’ at Brentford should not be enough to see him go again against Ipswich.

“I know Darwin Nunez produced an incredible cameo off the bench against Brentford,” Merson tells Sportskeeda. “But I’m still not sure he should start this game as the centre-forward.

READ MORE: Liverpool should capitalise on ‘strange situation’ and sign perfect Darwin Nunez replacement

“Mohamed Salah is a better player when Nunez is not in the team! Nunez stays up front and when he does that, it makes Salah a bit claustrophobic in my opinion.

“When it is open play, Nunez is a good player,” adds Merson. “We saw that against Brentford at the end when it was like a basketball game with end-to-end action. In a game like the next one against Ipswich, where the visitors are likely to put 10 men behind the ball, I don’t think it’s wise to play Nunez.”

Merson predicts comfortable Liverpool win

While we don’t necessarily agree with Merson on this one, whether Nunez does or does not start should not impact too much on the eventual result.

After being hammered 6-0 by Manchester City last weekend, Ipswich will be downbeat heading to Anfield. Whether it’s Nunez, Luis Diaz or even Federico Chiesa through the middle, Liverpool will fancy their chances.

And according to Merson, the Reds will run out 3-0 winners on Saturday.

“If Liverpool turn up with a good attitude they should win this game quite easily,” he says.

“Honestly, the scoreline does not matter for them, they should only focus on the result. Prediction Liverpool 3-0 Ipswich”