A 2-1 win over Newcastle leaves Liverpool in an undeniably more comfortable position (fifth spot, to be precise) than that prior to a nine-goal thumping of Bournemouth where the Reds were loitering so close to the relegation zone as to inspire flashbacks to the Roy Hodgson era.
The final whistle at Anfield brought with it confirmation of a massive selection boost ahead of the visit to Goodison Park with Darwin Nunez having now official served his three-game suspension, as reported in a tweet by the Echo’s Charlotte Coates.
A reminder that Darwin Nunez serves the final match of his suspension tonight while Diogo Jota returns to training tomorrow #LFC
— Charlotte Coates (@CACoates96) August 31, 2022
Diogo Jota is also set for a return to team training today, as Jurgen Klopp suggested, though it should be deemed highly unlikely that fans will catch a look at the Portuguese international back in the matchday squad as early as the clash with Merseyside rivals Everton.
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Still, our £64m signing represents a huge addition of firepower back in the squad following a moment of madness in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
We’d expect Bobby Firmino to hold on to his place in the meantime given the importance Klopp places on meritocracy, though a cameo at Goodison shouldn’t be ruled out.
Add Thiago Alcantara back in training – who’s set to shortly follow Jota – and Liverpool may very well be looking a force to respect once more if we can keep up the positive results amid the pair’s ongoing injury-enforced absences.