NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Diogo Jota’s recovery from injury will be “invaluable” for Liverpool as they battle Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League title.
This goes to Paul Merson, who made his predictions for this weekend’s games with the race for the name on a knife’s edge.
With seven games remaining, one point separates the three contenders: Arsenal are at the top, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with City one point behind.
The Reds clinched the title, won the Carabao Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, despite several major injuries.
This includes goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and striker Jota, who suffered a knee in the 4-1 win at Brentford in February.
Jurgen Klopp showed earlier in the week that Portugal’s foreigner is back in education and could feature in the Europa League clash against Atalanta on Thursday night, ahead of the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
And Merson believes it’s a timely return, telling Sportskeeda: “Caiohmin Kelleher has done incredibly well this season, but Alisson Becker’s recovery from injury is a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp ahead of his final games as Liverpool manager.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is also back, so Conor Bradley may have to make way for him in the upcoming games, but one player whose return will be invaluable to the German coach is Diogo Jota.
“I think he’s Liverpool’s most productive finisher in front of Mohamed Salah and if he had played, Klopp and Co. would have been victorious against Manchester United.
Jota has scored 14 goals in 28 appearances so far this season, with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher in the past describing the 27-year-old as the club’s “best finisher” in recent decades.
Heading into Sunday’s match at Anfield, Liverpool are expected to beat a struggling Palace, the Eagles were on the verge of causing disappointment when the two teams met in December and when they faced City last week.
“Palace are going to cause a lot of disruption to Liverpool and Jean-Philippe Mateta is a handful in attack, but I expect the Reds to win at Anfield and triumph at the top, at least until Arsenal play,” added Gunners legend Merson.
“Like Manchester City, Liverpool will be patient in games and try to get a result. We’ve noticed that they fell behind a few times this season, but they kept going and got effects in their favor more than ever. No.
“Palace will make it difficult because they have players who can do things with the ball, but I expect a 3-1 win from Liverpool. “
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