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Jürgen Klopp should unleash two Liverpool players in rare plan that has worked five times already

Liverpool has largely kept a settled front line recently. The Atalanta match offers Jürgen Klopp a chance to shake it up by bringing Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota back.

 

Liverpool’s hopes of Europa League and Premier League glory are threatening to fall apart at a time when its squad is carrying very few injuries. It feels counterintuitive, but after several months of relying on youngsters and lesser lights to get results, the return of several stars has coincided with the worst run of form this season.

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The first priority for Jürgen Klopp is to devise a plan to overturn the 3-0 loss suffered to Atalanta. His Liverpool side famously overcame this scoreline before, though the 4-0 win over Barcelona in 2019 occurred at Anfield, rather than away from home. This challenge is greater, even if the Serie A side doesn’t possess the quality of Lionel Messi and company.

 

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Klopp’s main decision may lie with the composition of his front three, as all five senior forwards are available. Aside from the first leg with Atalanta, Liverpool’s front line for its last five matches has been Mohamed Salah, Darwin Núñez and Luis Diaz. However, it may be sensible to give Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota two of the berths in Italy.

 

The Portuguese forward’s return gave both the team and the supporters a lift in the last two matches, even if he was unable to score. Nonetheless, despite only having 38 minutes (plus stoppage time) across the defeats to Atalanta and Crystal Palace, Jota was able to have two Opta-defined big chances. His predatory powers of positioning and movement remain intact, even if his finishing needs to warm up.

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Jota was set up for a golden opportunity on his return to action by Gakpo, the first time the pair have linked up to fashion a chance defined as one “where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range.” The former PSV Eindhoven man had not been in great form but three of the five big chances he has created this season have occurred in the last two games. He may be finding form when the Reds need him most.

 

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There have only been 10 previous examples of Gakpo and Jota starting together in the front three, though there have been instances of the former being in midfield when the latter was in attack. If we make the safe assumption that Mohamed Salah will start on Thursday, there have been seven instances of him lining up with Liverpool’s numbers 18 and 20.

 

Only in the first example, at Crystal Palace last season, did none of them score. The peak occurred at Elland Road in a 6-1 victory 12 months ago this week, with Salah scoring twice and Gakpo and Jota each providing him with an assist.

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The latter also scored twice while the Netherlands international broke the deadlock. While this was not quite the fierce man-to-man side of Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds and Atalanta are not entirely dissimilar in style, which may play into Klopp’s thinking this week.

 

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While he would be unlikely to start four of his senior forwards, it was slightly surprising that the Liverpool manager did not roll the dice by using a quartet during the game against Palace on Sunday. He tried it at Molineux for 11 minutes last September, with the Reds eradicating a 1-0 deficit in that period.

 

They then later took the lead against Everton with four forwards on the pitch and equalized against Luton and Manchester City in similar circumstances. Perhaps the best example is the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham, in which Gakpo and Núñez emerged from the bench to join Diaz and Jota on the pitch, with the subs linking up for the winning goal.

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For this scenario to come into play against Atalanta, Liverpool will need to get a couple of goals first. The form of Gakpo and Jota with inevitable starter Salah suggests this should be Klopp’s front three for this massive match.

 

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Klopp has forward options the envy of almost every club in world football. Getting the balance of the attack right will be imperative if the Reds are to pull off another famous European comeback this week. With Núñez his wasteful self recently, Gakpo and Jota should be in the starting XI for Atalanta.

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