Liverpool will take on relegation-battling West Ham United on Saturday afternoon at Anfield, and it's time for Arne Slot to finally unleash Rio Ngumoha from the start.
The Reds have had a mixed campaign so far after winning the title last season, and head into their weekend fixture currently in sixth place in the Premier League, three points behind Man Utd in fourth and six points behind third place Aston Villa.
But after scraping to a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last weekend, the reigning champions must now make changes to find solutions and come away with a more convincing performance to claim an important three points against a tough opponent.
Liverpool Must Start Ngumoha vs West Ham
Ngumoha
This season will be remembered mostly for Dominik Szoboszlai's incredible performances, Mohamed Salah's incredible outburst and drop-off in performances, and also for the emergence of young Ngumoha on the wing.
The teenage forward introduced himself to the Premier League with a 100th minute winner at St James' Park over Newcastle earlier in the season, but has been used rather sparingly throughout by Slot, despite a lack of attacking threat in a lot of games.
Liverpool have scored 42 goals this season, less than all of Bournemouth, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City, despite breaking the British transfer record twice in the summer to bring in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who have both had their own struggles since joining.
But Wirtz will once again be absent this weekend, having had to pull out of the lineup against Forest last weekend, with Slot confirming that he doesn't know when he will return.
"I don’t expect Florian [Wirtz] to be available so that’s a disappointment, of course," Slot said.
When asked about a timeframe for return for the German, Slot's answer was fairly worrying.
"No, at this moment of time, no – and usually when I say that I do know that but I don’t want to share it! But now I honestly don’t know.”
Perfect Time to Unleash Ngumoha
liverpool rio ngumoha
With Wirtz out, Slot clearly not trusting Federico Chiesa, and Gakpo struggling for form, it's the perfect chance for Ngumoha to come in and make an impact.
West Ham will undoubtedly set up with a low block to frustrate the Reds, and the best way to break down a low block is to be able to make them move. Someone with the explosive pace of Ngumoha, and the trickery in his game can get the defence moving and that can create opportunities for himself and others to find space and cause danger.
He's also proven to be fearless, which has seen him labelled as 'magic', and a game against a team battling relegation at home is the perfect time for the home crowd to get behind him and give him the confidence to shine.
Playing underperforming players regularly isn't going to help Liverpool climb the table and find excellent form, so it's time for the manager to make changes, and that means starting one of the nation's brightest talents.
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