Liverpool’s midweek defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League – barring a remarkable Barcelona-esque comeback in the second leg – has arguably ended their chances of any silverware this campaign and 2022/2023 as a whole hasn’t gone to plan whatsoever for Jurgen Klopp.
The Anfield side take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League this evening and will be hoping to exact some revenge after a 1-1 draw earlier on this term and with the European spots racing away from them at a furious pace, three points will be the only requirement.
The starting XI will surely be tinkered with, especially considering how badly the side collapsed during the second half against Madrid, conceding three goals to lose 5-2.
The back four, in particular, were disappointing, to say the least, with centre-back Joe Gomez arguably the worst, and the German must ditch him ahead of this evening’s Premier League tie.
Will Joe Gomez start against Crystal Palace?
The Englishman has been solid if unspectacular for Liverpool in the league this term, averaging a Sofascore rating of 6.91/10, ranking him as their 11th-best player in the squad.
Across 19 games, he has kept just seven clean sheets, although he has won 56% of his total duels while ranking fourth in the squad for interceptions (1.1) and clearances (2.2) per match while ranking sixth for tackles (1.4) each game so its clear he has been steady for the most part, yet against Madrid, Gomez had a howler.
His 5.8 rating via Sofascore was the worst out of all outfield players while he took 46 touches and completed 81% of his passes during his spell on the pitch.
He won just one duel throughout and made one clearance and one interception as the La Liga sides front three of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo ran the Liverpool defence ragged.
The £85k-per-week defender was criticised heavily during the defeat.
Journalist Uri Levy claimed he was in a “football nightmare” while he was also “struggling to cope with Vini Jr,” according to ESPN writer Mark Ogden.
This display will no doubt damage his confidence and with an important three points on the line tonight, Klopp may be better at bringing someone in who will be in a much better frame of mind compared to Gomez.
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