Liverpool were glad to see Fabinho and Joel Matip return on Sunday but now Jurgen Klopp has some interesting team decisions to make.
There were many things to be happy about as Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League. However, one of the most pleasing sights was seeing Fabinho and Joel Matip on the team sheet again.
The pair have been long-term absentees with Fabinho suffering an ankle injury against Napoli at the end of November and Matip aggravating a knee injury the last time they played Man Utd.
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The Brazilian missed nine league games while the Cameroonian was sidelined for 13 fixtures. Two key players missing for that length usually hurts a teams form but the Reds won every single league game the pair were missing for.
The level of performance from the Reds in the last few months gives Jurgen Klopp some real decisions to make about how the pair return to action.
Fabinho came off the bench on Sunday and will surely start again soon. Naby Keita and James Milner are still missing and Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson are in need of a rest.
However, it will be interesting to see if the manager includes Fabinho in the big games going forward. The midfield have performed at their highest level in the last few months – Henderson having perhaps his best form for the club playing in the deeper role.
The midfield has also benefitted from regularly having a more attacking player in the trio – Keita before his injury and now Oxlade-Chamberlain. Will the manager revert to Fabinho in the ‘six’ position with Hendo and Gini further forward?
The clearer decision comes for Joel Matip. The defender was incredible last season as the Reds won the Champions League and entered the season as the clear first choice partner for Virgil van Dijk.
After using Dejan Lovren to cover for Matip initially, the manager was forced into using Joe Gomez after the Croat was injured himself.
Since his reintroduction to the center back position Gomez has been magnificent. It is no surprise that the team have picked up their best run of clean sheets since the last time the Englishman was a regular at the back.
Surely Klopp will persist with this pairing until injury or rotation requires a change? I hope so. Gomez deserves his place in this side and the chance to contribute to this historic season.