The poor performances of Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota have given Liverpool boss Arne Slot an unwelcome selection dilemma ahead of the EFL Cup final, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
Liverpool are set to take on Newcastle United on Sunday at Wembley where they will be aiming to win the competition for the 11th time.
A victory in London would come as a welcome relief to fans given the team were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday night after losing against Paris Saint-Germain on penalties at Anfield, with Nunez one of two Reds players to miss in the shootout.
However, Jota started the game and struggled to make an impact, and Lynch believes that Slot will find it difficult to pick an option up front, telling Sports Mole: “It’s really tough now because you’ve got two centre forwards there who did not look very good, so it’s a battle of who’s better in training. It’s really tough. I suspect if Cody Gakpo was fully fit we’d see Luis Diaz in that false nine role again.
“I think the preference would be to put Diaz there but it’s a big question of whether that is possible. If not, picking between the two of Jota and Nunez – maybe you go down the line of Nunez because that extra physicality gives pace to exploit Newcastle.
“It just shows you the importance of signing a centre forward who’s a nailed on starter this summer because it’s not an embarrassment of riches [up front], it’s the complete opposite in that position for Arne Slot. A really difficult selection choice for him to make for this one.”
Jota and Nunez have only scored a combined total of 10 Premier League goals in 2024-25, less than half of Mohamed Salah‘s tally of 27.
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Are there question marks in midfield?
Newcastle will likely come into the game full of energy, while the Reds may be somewhat fatigued from their clash against PSG given the match was taken to extra time and penalties.
Ryan Gravenberch looked like he struggled against the French champions, with the Dutchman struggling to cover ground and winning just three of his 10 ground duels.
However, Lynch told Sports Mole that Gravenberch will start despite his exhaustion, saying: “There’s absolutely no question that he starts. Slot’s [not] going to start rotating him now. We have seen a little bit of legginess in recent weeks – this is the first season he’s had to go at this intensity for this many matches and it’s starting to tell.
“He’ll be better next season for that, his body will start to adapt to it and he’ll be in that group like Van Dijk and Salah who are more than capable of doing these seasons and putting them together. He’ll learn from that but he will certainly be in the starting XI against Newcastle, and as much as there is a bit of legginess there, he’s generally performing okay.
“It’s not his absolute best but I don’t think he’s been a huge issue for Liverpool, so I’m sure he will start and I’m sure he’s capable of putting in a very good performance as well because he was part of the midfield that dominated Newcastle very recently – he’s more than capable of putting that performance in again.”
Gravenberch started just 12 times in the league last season for Liverpool but has been trusted to start all 29 of their Premier League games this term, as well as nine of their 10 Champions League outings.
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Should Liverpool be concerned about Newcastle’s press?
PSG managed to find success against Liverpool across both legs when they aggressively pressed the Reds, restricting the Merseysiders’ ability to play out from the back.
The Toon sat deep at Anfield when Slot’s side emerged as 2-0 victors on February 26 and had little success, so perhaps Eddie Howe will take lessons from PSG and instruct his team to press high.
Despite the possibility of the Magpies pressing high, Lynch expressed his view to Sports Mole that Liverpool would be able to deal with any challenges they encounter on Sunday, saying: “That massive [Wembley] pitch hopefully will make it harder for Newcastle to press. I always felt [the pitch] was something that took away from Liverpool in finals under Jurgen Klopp.
“Wembley will suit [Liverpool] more which would be handy, but of course that is an area – particularly once they get the ball at right-back – that Newcastle are going to try and press and make them really uncomfortable. Liverpool have got to be ready for that but Newcastle aren’t quite the level of PSG.
“It’s a couple of weeks now since since Liverpool completely dominated Newcastle from the first whistle to last at Anfield, so I hope that’s still in their minds. Liverpool are the better side, so it’s just all about going to Wembley now and proving it.”
Newcastle have not beaten Liverpool since 2015 – a period encompassing five draws and 12 wins for the Reds – and Slot should be confident of victory on Sunday.
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