Despite an unexpected extended break owing to the Merseyside derby being postponed at the weekend, the Liverpool starting XI to take on Girona in the Champions League on Tuesday could be a much-changed one.
With the Reds still to negotiate six matches over the next 20 days, and their place in the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition all but assured, Arne Slot might take the opportunity to rotate his line-up for the clash at the Estadi Montilivi tomorrow evening.
One player who may duly benefit is Federico Chiesa, who’s made just three first-team appearances since joining from Juventus in August due to persistent injury troubles but is now ‘close to being back’, in the words of the head coach on Friday.
Coud Chiesa be recalled for Liverpool tomorrow?
Previewing the Girona game for the Liverpool Echo, Paul Gorst highlighted some of the line-up changes that Slot could feasibly consider, including a possible appearance for the Italian forward.
The journalist wrote: “How fit is Federico Chiesa? Having played just 60 minutes of football since September, in last week’s Under-21s defeat to FC Nordsjaelland, the Italy international will still be someway short of 100% but he might be needed to alleviate the workload on Mohamed Salah for this one.
“It’s unlikely he starts but the next few weeks offer chances for Chiesa to get some more games under his belt having barely featured since his August move from Juventus.
“Chiesa has played just 77 minutes of the 1,710 Liverpool have played since he joined the club but with Southampton in the Carabao Cup on the horizon and the fixtures starting to bottleneck for a Reds squad just feeling the impact of injuries just now, the visit to Girona might be an important one for the former Juve forward.
“Liverpool are insistent Chiesa is a long-term project but helping share the workload for his colleagues could be vital. For now, filling in for his fellow frontmen might be a temporary role for Chiesa until he is at a sufficient level of fitness to start to providing more serious competition.”
Federico Chiesa could be nearing a comeback for Liverpool
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Chiesa’s comeback could be very timely for Liverpool
As Gorst said, Slot is unlikely to throw Chiesa straight in from the start given his sparsity of game-time, but the ideal scenario would be for Liverpool to carve out a comfortable enough position to allow for Salah to be withdrawn on or before the 60-minute mark.
The jeopardy for this game is far lower than in the Premier League, where the Reds’ lead has been cut from nine points to four over the past few days, so it could be the opportune fixture for the Italian to make his first senior appearance since the Carabao Cup win over West Ham in late September.
The trip to Southampton in that competition next week might lend itself to a long-overdue start for the 27-year-old, provided that he doesn’t encounter any setbacks in the meantime.
Chiesa’s dream move to Liverpool has had a somewhat nightmarish beginning for him because of his fitness woes, but if he can finally put those behind him, the remaining few matches of 2024 could finally see him kickstart his time on Merseyside and enable Salah to enjoy some well-earned rest.
With the fixture list unrelenting despite the derby postponement and the Reds already shorn of several players due to injury and suspension, the Italy forward might just be coming back at the perfect moment.