EPL
Dejan Lovren or Joel Matip: who should replace injured Gomez
Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Burnley on Wednesday was overshadowed by Joe Gomez’s injury. The England international who has been a rock-solid defender fractured his left foot and he is set to spend six weeks on the sideline.
This will be a very bad news for Jurgen Klopp who would have preferred to have all his players fit and in-form throughout the busy festive period.
The young defender has created a very terrific and exceptional partnership with Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of defence as they have conceded just seven goals this season.
With Gomez’s injury, Klopp will be forced to find a capable replacement for the youngster in subsequent matches.
Who should replace Gomez
The German manager is left with two options – Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip. Both players once featured regularly under the German tactician, but injuries and lack of form pushed them out of the team’s regular centre-backs.
With Gomez’s injury, it is now certain that one of the two players will partner Van Dijk at the back for at least six weeks.
Dejan Lovren
The Croatian is being tipped as the best player to return back to the first eleven when the team tackle Bournemouth in today’s early fixture.
Lovren already had great understanding with the former Southampton defender during the time they featured together before the Croatian picked up an injury while playing for his country at the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Irrespective of the understanding existing between the two centre-backs( Van Dijk and Lovren), Klopp might decide to try Matip.
It will be very interesting to see how he fares against Bournemouth if he was given the nod to start ahead of his teammate and competitor.
Joel Matip
The Cameroonian is no doubt a good and no-nonsense defender. His height (195 cm) is a great advantage to him in the fight for a place in the team.
With Matip and Van Dijk’s height, it would be very difficult for opponents to score from corner kicks or cross from the wings as both players are good in the air.
Though Matip could be erroneous at some time, Van Dijk’s leadership and presence would play a great role in helping the 27-year-old stay calm and focus during games.
Will Klopp feel Gomez’s absence
This isn’t the best time for any manager to lose any player to injury, not to talk of an important player.
Gomez has grown up to become an integral part of Klopp’s team and he will definitely be missed throughout the six weeks he will be out of action.
Gomez will be very hard to replace, this is because Van Dijk feels more comfortable playing around the youngster. The mixture of youth and experience has given the Reds a new confidence and assurance at the back of the pitch.
Lovren, Van Dijk, and Matip are all in their late 20s, hence, there could be lack of enthusiasm and energy in their play.
However, we trust Klopp to make the right decision, he’s been in the same situation before and he found solutions to it. He could do the same this time even if he had to promote 20-year-old Conor Masterson to the first-team
