Liverpool’s injury crisis was alleviated a little this week as Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Fabinho and James Milner have returned to training, while Diogo Jota is finally back in contention.
The Portuguese attacker has been a revelation since joining Liverpool in the summer, scoring nine goals in 17 appearances for the Reds since his arrival.
He earnt praise from pundits across the country, with Jermaine Pennant being one who was particularly impressed by him.
“I feel like he’s been there for ages, he’s a great talent, he can score, he can assist he’s got his pace and he can beat players,” Pennant said back in December.
The Merseyside outfit will certainly want him to hit the ground running upon his return from injury, and that’s why he should start against Sheffield United this weekend.
With all due respect to Sheffield United, they’ve been poor this season, they’re at the bottom of the league and they look a far cry from the team that took the league by storm last term.
However, more poignantly, they have an injury crisis at the back, with all three of their first-choice centre-halves currently sidelined after Chris Basham limped off against Fulham last week.
Of course, injuries are never something you want to see in football, but this represents a great chance for the Reds and Jota to capitalise on the Blades’ ongoing issues.
Jota will want to get back amongst the goals straight away, and there may not be a better chance for him to run rampant than against a backline that will likely include Kean Bryan, Ethan Ampadu and Phil Jagielka, two inexperienced youngsters and an ageing veteran who may not have the legs to keep up with Jota.
Confidence is a massive thing for a striker, and it’s vitally important that Jota picks up where he left off before he was injured, and Liverpool probably couldn’t have cherry-picked a better team for Jota to return against.
Klopp may not get a better chance to unleash Jota and get him back firing straight away.
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