Darwin Nuñez is yet to start a game for Liverpool in a competitive fixture, but both Chris Sutton and Paul Merson think that should change.
The Reds face Crystal Palace tonight and both pundits believe the Uruguayan must play from the off.
Their assertion arrives off the back of a couple of positive performances in a Liverpool shirt already for the forward coming off the bench.
Against Manchester City in the Community Shield final, he caused all sorts of problems and managed to hit the back of the net late on.
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And at Craven Cottage last week, Liverpool looked much more threatening with Nuñez in the side. He managed to both score and assist against Fulham.
Thus, for Chris Sutton, Nuñez deserves more game time this week.
Writing in his pre-match predictions column for the BBC, Sutton asserted ‘the big thing for Jurgen Klopp [against Palace] is that he has to start new striker Nuñez.’
Sutton believes ‘some Liverpool fans would question Klopp if he leaves him [Nuñez] on the bench’ this week.
As for Merson, he wrote for Sports Keeda that ‘Nuñez should’ve played from the start last week’ as he ‘proved his mettle when he came on’ and therefore should be handed a starting birth against palace.
The statements from both pundits are convincing. Nuñez should be handed a chance to play from the start against Palace.
Liverpool have looked a stronger side with him in the team. His knack of getting into goal scoring positions can’t be ignored by Jurgen Klopp for much longer.
And playing a side like Crystal Palace ,Nuñez could be a better option than Roberto Firmino stylistically.
The London club possess a notably physical centre-back pairing of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen. Nuñez is the type of forward who can go toe to toe with them on the physical front.
Therefore, all signs point towards a first competitive start for Liverpool for the 23-year-old tonight.
Topics: Darwin Nunez, Liverpool, Crystal Palace
Robert Worthington