Jurgen Klopp risks disaster if he plays Naby Keita
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp can’t risk playing the injury-prone Naby Keita against Everton in the Premier League.
Fans’ hopes were raised after the Guinea international was pictured back in training with the first team after a lengthy layoff.
Keita has never really displayed the type of form that he did in the Bundesliga. During his final season with RB Leipzig, the midfielder was chased by several big clubs across Europe, and Liverpool paid extra to ensure he’d be a Red.
Naby Keita has never clicked with Liverpool
Formation differences, struggles with the language and a series of niggling injuries have restricted Keita’s impact over the three seasons he’s been on Merseyside.
While he’s got abilities that few in the squad possess, he should not be picked to start against Everton this weekend.
Despite the lack of fans in the stadium, this match is going to be intense. Both sides need to win this game in order to help solidify their charge for the top four places, and there’ll be the revenge factor at play here.
Virgil van Dijk and Thiago were both hacked down in the reverse leg, with grave results. Van Dijk was put out of the entire 2020/2021 season by Jordan Pickford’s horrendous scissor challenge, while Richarlison injured Thiago a reckless, terrible tackle of his own.
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Liverpool need that intensity
That results ended in a drew, and while both sides have had their successes since, this is now a massive game. Results since Christmas have been awful, but Liverpool needs to use the RB Leipzig victory to spur themselves on in the league.
This intensity and the demand for a win is why Keita can’t be risked against Everton. Despite his skills, he hasn’t played football since the 7-0 win over Crystal Palace. That was 10 games ago.
There’s no way that Keita will be able to bring a required level of intensity, over 90 minutes, after missing the last 10 fixtures.
We also can’t afford him to be brought on and breaks down again. That will do nobody any good, and although it’s exciting to have Keita available, it would be a disaster if he’s picked.