All eyes will be on Jurgen Klopp’s team selection for Liverpool’s Europa League showdown with Atalanta.
In the first leg, several star names were rested or rotated by the Liverpool manager and it proved to be a disaster.
Not only did the team suffer a morale-sapping 3-0 loss at Anfield, but that 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday just made matters worse.
Before that Palace loss, there was some talk of whether Liverpool should focus on the Premier League title rather than Europe now and probably play a weakened team.
But Gary Neville was sure to shut off any of those suggestions and he thinks that the Reds should go as strong as possible in Italy.
Yes, Liverpool have now fallen behind in the title race and they have a very tricky away fixture against Fulham at the weekend.
But surely Klopp has to play his strongest XI, with Gabriel Agbonlahor backing Diogo Jota to start against Atalanta and make his first start since February, as he told talkSPORT Breakfast (18/04/24 at 8:50 am).
The 27-year-old has scored 14 goals and supplied four assists from his 30 matches in all competitions, which is pretty good going for a player struggling to remain fit.
Diogo Jota to start against Atalanta in the Europa League
“I think it would be difficult,” said Agbonlahor about a possible Liverpool comeback. “Jota’s back, he is the player I reckon could start tonight. He is back.
“If Salah has his shooting boots on, then you never know. Get that first goal in the first 15 and Liverpool have been renowned for that. They are quite an attacking club and they aren’t an old-school defensive Italian club. They are quite front foot.”
Diogo Jota has been a massive miss for Liverpool
Yes, Jota came off the bench against Palace and missed that opportunity that was blocked at point-blank range.
But you just feel that if he was fit and firing during these past few weeks, then the results against Liverpool would have been far different.
There is no other player the team has missed more than Jota. There’s no reason why he doesn’t start in Italy and prove to the rest of his teammates how clinical you should be in front of goal.
Plus, it has been a while since fans have been able to see Jota and Mohamed Salah start together, so beware Atalanta, this tie is far from over!