‘You have to play him’ – Paul Merson calls for Slot to start Liverpool ace ‘from another planet’
Paul Merson has named one player who he believes must start for Liverpool in tonight’s crucial Premier League showdown against Nottingham Forest.
Arne Slot inevitably shuffled the pack considerably for the FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley last weekend, with many of the Reds’ big names nicely rested for the visit to the City Ground.
However, one man who did start at Anfield on Saturdy was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who captained the side as Virgil van Dijk was given the day off and scored a thunderbolt of a goal during his hour on the pitch.
Merson: Trent must start against Forest
In his latest Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda, in which he’s plumped for a 1-1 draw in Nottingham tonight, Merson made the case for Liverpool’s number 66 to keep his place in the starting line-up despite some social media calls to the contrary.
The Sky Sports pundit wrote: “Some section of Liverpool fans want Conor Bradley to start ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold? Don’t get me wrong, I like Bradley, but no one would want Alexander-Arnold sitting on the bench in a game like this, let’s be honest.
“You have to play him, in my opinion. He’s not the best defender in the world, but what he gives while going forward is just from another planet.”
Merson likely to get his wish
We expect that Merson will get his wish in terms of Trent starting tonight, even though the 26-year-old endured a nightmare performance in his most recent Premier League outing against Manchester United nine days ago.
He’s since had a lively cameo off the bench in the Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham and – albeit against League Two opposition – a critic-silencing display as Accrington were put to the sword on Saturday, with GOAL awarding him 9/10 in their post-match player ratings.
His withdrawal after an hour of that game carried a distinct air of a pre-planned substitution by Slot with an eye towards the seismic showdown against Forest, and while we don’t doubt Bradley’s credentials for one second, we imagine that the vice-captain will get the nod at-right back at the City Ground.
It’s a great selection dilemma for the Liverpool head coach to have, with two quality options in that area of the pitch, but we’d be surprised if Trent isn’t in the starting XI tonight, especially given how he’s responded to his bad day at the office against Man United.
As ever, we fully trust in the Reds boss to make the right call, something he’s done far more often than not since replacing Jurgen Klopp last summer.
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