da mrbet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da betway： The visit of Arsenal may not be decisive in helping Liverpool reach their target of winning the league, but in providing an opportunity for Naby Keita to start it could be an important game in the season from the player’s personal perspective.
Keita didn’t have too much success in his debut year at the club, making just 16 Premier League starts, and has missed the majority of this campaign too, but he could stake a claim for a first-team place with a good display against the Gunners.
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The Guinea international performed well against Manchester United last week as he helped to maintain pressure on the Red Devils and played an important pass which ultimately resulted in Adam Lallana’s equaliser.
However, he has started only two games this season and is in need of game time, and in coming up against a useful opponent in Lucas Torreira – rather than an MK Dons midfielder – Klopp should be able to assess the level he’s at right now.
Keita has described himself as a player who has always had “ambition” and found it difficult missing out on the run to last season’s Champions League success, and therefore he will be eager to prove himself.
Firstly, he has to put his injury issues firmly behind him, and more minutes against the Gunners will be vital to achieving that, but if he can overcome Torreira he will also begin to win over Klopp.
Rotating the midfield in the league is something the German has avoided this term, but considering how involved Keita has been, it is difficult to ignore his influence.
He has averaged 49 passes per game as a result of his 90% pass accuracy across all competitions, per Whoscored, and therefore he should have too much for his Arsenal counterpart, who has been struggling for starts and form in 2019/20 – with just six so far.
The Reds’ midfielder also hasn’t had much chance to impress, but he will need to better his average accurate long balls per game, as he falls behind Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in that area.
However, he is better suited to running with the ball at his feet, and his return of two successful dribbles per Champions League game ranks him third among Liverpool players – such flair and dynamism could encourage Klopp to utilise him more often.
It also shows that he could be a handful for Torreira on Wednesday, and if he does indeed get the better of the 25-year-old then Klopp’s side can expect to get some joy out of the fixture, whilst helping Keita’s first-team chances.