One member of Liverpool’s starting XI this afternoon has been urged to ‘step up’ after being given a ‘deserved’ opportunity against Fulham.
Jurgen Klopp’s team selection has raised some eyebrows, with Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai among those named on the bench.
Harvey Elliott is among the beneficiaries as he comes in for just a seventh Premier League start of the season against his former side, and Theo Squires has implored the 21-year-old to make the most of it.
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The journalist wrote in the Liverpool Echo’s live matchday blog (15:38): “Good to see Harvey Elliott get a deserved start in his favoured midfield position. Against his former club today, you know he’s going to get a heated reception from the Fulham fans.
“Having repeatedly made an impact off the bench this season, he needs to step up from the start today.”
Having enjoyed a run of three successive league starts either side of the Carabao Cup final, Elliott is today named in a Premier League line-up for the first time since the 1-1 draw against Manchester City six weeks ago (WhoScored).
As Squires mentioned, the 21-year-old has made a telling impact off the bench already this season, netting the stoppage time winner away to Crystal Palace in December and also scoring as a substitute in the 6-1 drubbing of Sparta Prague last month.
As with the team in general, Liverpool’s midfield hasn’t quite been at its best in recent weeks, so there’s a golden opportunity for the £40,000-per-week youngster today to send a firm message to Klopp going into the final half-dozen matches of the campaign.
Elliott will have his own point to prove against his former club, too, and hopefully he can have the desired impact as a starter rather than a sub in west London this afternoon.