Jurgen Klopp has been told by former Arsenal star to drop Cody Gakpo in today's Premier League clash with Chelsea
Liverpool play Chelsea in a early kickoff today with both teams currently at the bottom half of the Premier League standings and 10 points separating the top four from the bottom half.
Many believe that a loss in today's contest would eliminate the loser's chances of qualifying for the following season's Champions League. As a result, Klopp and Graham Potter will attempt to secure all three points, and nothing less will be desired.
The match at Anfield is likely to be decided by two large signings in January, Gakpo is expected to start for Liverpool, and Mykhailo Mudryk is expected to make his debut for Chelsea.
However, if it were up to Arsenal legend Paul Merson, former PSV man Gakpo would be starting from the bench, 'having been unimpressive' since his £36 million move to Anfield.
"Liverpool got blown away by Brighton the other day. I did mention that there was no way Brighton were going to lose that game, and they deserved to win,’ Merson told Sportskeeda .
"The Liverpool players who played against Wolves aren’t going to play on Saturday. Mohamed Salah isn’t closing down like he used to.
"They need to go back to closing down and winning the ball high up the pitch – they're not doing that at all at the moment.
"Cody Gakpo's been struggling a bit so far – I can’t remember players for Holland coming in and ripping it up in the Premier League in the last couple of years.
"He'll need time, and he might need to come out of the team for a game or two.
Merson also predicted a big match with consequences to both sides' top-four bid: "I'll go as far as to say that whoever loses this match is completely out of the Premier League top-four race," the Arsenal legend said.
"This is a massive game. The team that wins this game could go on a run and really push for a place in the top four."
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