The recently-concluded summer transfer window has been one of much change for Liverpool, but the performances at the maiden stage of the Premier League campaign are also tantalising a season of greater success for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch have all been signed to bolster the midfield following the culmination of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contracts in June.
The Saudi Arabian raid on European football found Liverpool and resulted in the sales of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, and while some might have been concerned by such drastic upheaval, the Reds have started the term with confidence.
Seven points have been secured from the opening three Premier League matches, with a draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge preceding victories over Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
Aston Villa now make the trip to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, and Liverpool will hope to continue the early-season purple patch and maintain their position at the upper end of the table.
Who will play against Aston Villa?
Liverpool will be hoping to make it three successive league victories with triumph over Unai Emery’s Villans, but will have to do so without £34m deadline day signing Gravenberch, who has not been registered in time for the contest.
Ibrahima Konate and Thiago Alcantara will also miss the match through injury, while captain Virgil van Dijk is suspended after his red card at St. James’ Park last weekend; the absence of Liverpool’s starring defensive axis means under-fire duo Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are the probable partnership.
Curtis Jones could also feature after returning to full training this week, having missed the past two matches with an injury.
Klopp has so far named £85m club-record signing Darwin Nunez as a substitute across the opening games of the term, but after the Uruguayan’s resounding brace to sink the Magpies last time out, could find an opportunity from the opening whistle.
Will Darwin Nunez start against Aston Villa?
Arriving from Benfica for a lucrative fee in June 2022, Nunez understandably carried a weight of expectation after bagging 34 goals from 41 outings for the Portuguese giants in the 2021/22 season, including goals against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool in the Champions League.
The £140k-per-week talisman managed to score 15 goals and supply four assists from 42 matches in his maiden year in England, starting only 26 times, and while he was heralded as a “racehorse” by his manager, missed 20 big chances in the top-flight, behind only Marcus Rashford and Erling Haaland, who broke the Premier League record for goals scored in a season.
While the present term is still in its embryonic stage, Nunez has netted twice and is yet to miss a big chance, and if he is to feature from the get-go against Villa, he could continue his recent feats.
Klopp will be hesitant to bench Diogo Jota or Cody Gakpo, who are impressive forwards with their link-up play and workrate, but with Luis Diaz scoring twice from three games this season too, it is unlikely that the Colombian will lose his starting spot.
Mohamed Salah is simply untouchable in his right forward position, and while Klopp will be pleased with his side’s start, Nunez was the “game-changer” against Newcastle, as was said by content creator HLTCO, and must now be provided a starting berth.
Would Darwin Nunez score vs Aston Villa?
Certain segments of the Liverpool support might consider Nunez to be a weapon best utilised in the second half, brought on to wreak havoc and impose on the weary legs in the latter phase of the match – an “agent of chaos” to tip the odds in the Reds’ favour, as has been said by the Liverpool Echo’s Theo Squires.
But he definitely possesses qualities to break the Aston Villa resolve, and will have seen his confidence receive a much-needed boost after so instrumentally affecting the Newcastle game, with Klopp’s side looking destined for defeat until his introduction.
As per FBref, the 24-year-old ranks among the top 10% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 1% for total shots taken, the top 3% for touches in the attacking box and the top 4% for progressive carries per 90.
What this highlights is a natural striking instinct and a progressive presence to drive the ball into promising offensive openings, something that could be utilised to exploit an Aston Villa team that’s weaknesses on the counter were brutally exposed against Newcastle in the season’s curtain-raising matchweek.
Indeed, the Toon dismantled Villa in ruthless fashion to start their campaign with aplomb, winning 5-1 on home ground in an incisive, counter-attacking clinic, with Eddie Howe remarking that his team could have scored more on the day.
Nunez’s electric pace and clinical ability could be crucial to writing a similar narrative on Sunday, especially with the likes of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai orchestrating breaks from deep.
Mac Allister ranks among the top 13% of midfielders for shot-creating actions and the top 16% for progressive carries per 90, while his Hungarian teammate ranks among the top 11% of attacking midfielders and wingers for shot-creating actions, the top 17% for assists and the top 16% for progressive passes per 90.
Such skills appear tailor-made for a forward of the 6 foot 2 Nunez’s ilk, who might now unleash the full scale of his skill set on English football with regularity after an inconsistent first year.
Liverpool’s static, ineffective midfield last year must receive its portion of the blame, failing to supplement the attack with reliable creative support, and now Nunez looks to have all the tools to craft an auspicious campaign for himself.
Villa, who have recovered well from the ignominious seasonal opening in England’s North East, winning convincingly against Everton and Burnley, will now hope to hinder Liverpool’s resurgence with a resilient, tenacious display on Merseyside.
But with the Anfield side clicking into gear, their efforts might be futile, especially if Nunez – who has been dubbed “razor-sharp” by Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury – is deployed from the start, growing into his skin and starting to show signs of the striker that Klopp and co paid such a large fee for.