Liverpool’s crunch match against Arsenal today may be Fabio Carvalho’s last chance to force Jurgen Klopp’s hand in breaking backing into consideration. Carvalho was Klopp’s first signing last summer after Liverpool battled for several months to bring in the talented Portuguese attacker from Fulham.
While being seen as one for the future, Carvalho was given opportunities from the start of the season to stake a claim in Klopp’s team. He found the net in back-to-back games over Bournemouth and Newcastle, the latter being a last-minute winner.
But he’s barely featured in the league since the end of the World Cup, coming off the bench for a two-minute cameo against Bournemouth last month. The signing of Cody Gakpo has certainly impacted Carvalho’s minutes, while Diogo Jota’s return from injury means even fewer opportunities for the Portuguese starlet.
He was once again an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea earlier this week with fans left wondering when the versatile attacker will be given an opportunity. And today’s match against Arsenal may be Carvalho’s final chance of playing some minutes with Luis Diaz on the verge of making his long-awaited return.
Klopp confirmed on Friday that the Arsenal match will come too soon for Diaz, but he’s expected to be back to face Leeds in their following fixture. Diaz’s return will see Klopp have his full attacking rotation available to him including Roberto Firmino, Gakpo, Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah.
Carvalho had often filled in as Liverpool’s attacking midfielder, but it’s out wide where Carvalho is most effective. Klopp has admitted that he’ll be giving others chances in the final few weeks of the season with his side woefully out of form.
The Liverpool boss dropped Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Andy Robertson from the team that lost to Manchester City last week for the Chelsea match. That potentially creates an opening for Carvalho to feature with Klopp admitting the door is open for everyone.
“This was a different week but from now on we don’t play three times and week,” he said. “We have more time to train and I have to and I will make decisions about the team based on what I saw in training. That opens the door for everyone.
“We played three times a week and the boys who play all the time recover. The other boys can train well, but the last game we won so why would you make chances because we saw one session where a few players show up? That’s a different situation so you let it go and you keep on building and building. Now, what can we build on? We have to change.”
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