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Liverpool visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday under a little pressure to pick up three points.
The Reds have not beaten Man City away from home in the Premier League since 2015, but could really do with changing that this weekend.
Having dropped points away at Aston Villa on Wednesday, Liverpool know they can ill afford to do so again.
Perhaps the biggest problem for Liverpool at Villa was the quality of their finishing.
Darwin Nunez missed an open goal to put the Reds ahead in the second-half, while Diogo Jota squandered a terrific, one-on-one chance earlier on.
Arne Slot admitted in the lead up to the game that Cody Gakpo could miss the Man City clash and if Liverpool are without the Dutchman again, then Slot badly needs to get more of a tune out of Nunez or Jota.
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In Gakpo’s absence, Jota has been brought in to start Liverpool’s last two Premier League fixtures.
The 28-year-old obviously plays through the centre under Slot, not from the left, but his inclusion meant Luis Diaz was shifted wide against Wolves, while Curtis Jones played there at Villa.
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Given the poor form and relative ineffectiveness of Jota and Nunez through the middle, Slot may have been keen to restore Diaz as his number nine against City.
However, if Gakpo is still unavailable, then that is simply not going to be possible.
The Dutchman’s loss is not just in himself not being available, but in the ramifications of it, too.
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Gakpo being out would mean one of either Jota or Nunez are certain to play.
With neither looking especially like scoring lately, that is a worry heading to a ground Liverpool haven’t won at in almost 10 years.
With it being a straight question of one or the other, though, Slot must make a decision on who he most thinks can bounce back.
After Slot called Nunez out for a lack of effort against Villa, it would be a surprise if the Uruguayan came back in for one of Liverpool’s biggest matches of the season.
Nunez certainly has a goal in him and he could make life difficult for a City defence lacking in confidence.
ApperancesMinutesGoalsAssistsDiogo Jota1047531Darwin Nunez1042221Jota/Nunez last 10 appearances
But the cold reality is that Liverpool cannot rely on Darwin with the stakes so high.
Instead, Jota is surely going to get the nod.
The Portuguese has scored at the Etihad before, but he’s going to have to up his game considerably to make an impact again.
In the meantime, Liverpool fans will be desperate to see Gakpo return to health as soon as possible.
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