Everything is now set up for Arne Slot to unleash 'dangerous' player for Liverpool against Everton - opinion

03/29/2025 01:00 PM

Liverpool supporters will have to wait a little longer before seeing their team back in action this month.

The Reds have had a March to forget after being knocked out of the Champions League and having lost the Carabao Cup final.

In some respects, fans and players alike will have been pleased to see the international break arrive when it did. It gave everyone connected with Liverpool a little break from a disappointing week.

With the Liverpool squad now returning, though, full focus should be on wrapping up the Premier League title as soon as possible. Energy will hopefully be renewed.

Another step towards the title can be taken on Wednesday, when Liverpool face Everton in the second Merseyside Derby of the season.

And as Arne Slot considers the shape his players are returning in ahead of the game, he should surely be looking at Federico Chiesa as a potential key player in Wednesday’s clash.

Federico Chiesa must start vs Everton

Rewind back to March 16th at Wembley and the Liverpool players emerging with any credit in the bank were seriously few and far between.

However, Chiesa proved a point to Slot in the Carabao Cup final. Despite not featuring at all for more than a month prior, the Italian stood up to be counted at Wembley.

Emerging for the final 12 minutes, he looked sharp and all-action, taking his goal brilliantly to give Liverpool hope of a comeback. Chiesa has been called ‘dangerous‘ by Diogo Jota and that’s exactly what he looked against Newcastle.

On the back of that eye-catching cameo, the 27-year-old has had the last two weeks off after failing to be called up for the Italy national team.

READ MORE: Federico Chiesa's father shares how his son feels about leaving Liverpool after exit rumours

With all five of Liverpool’s other forwards away on duty – and two of them taking in taxing trips to South America – Chiesa should now be at the forefront of Slot’s thinking for Everton.

Not all of the past two weeks will have been spent at the Liverpool training ground. But with Chiesa close at hand, he has hopefully been able to at least put himself in Slot’s thinking and show that he can be counted on for this type of game.

Now or never for Chiesa

On the whole it was a positive international break for Liverpool. While Chiesa was posted up on Merseyside, two of his rivals for places – Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz – both got goals for their countries.

Diaz showed a goalscoring touch that has deserted him by striking twice in two games, while Gakpo now looks fully fit after a difficult period.

Both of those things could be bad news for Chiesa. But we think that his freshness, as well as the recent memory of his display at Wembley, still make him the real winner of the international break for Liverpool.

In reality, nothing may now be enough to keep Chiesa from leaving Anfield this summer. The former Juventus man can still turn it around, he showed that at Wembley, but it has to start now. A good game in the Merseyside Derby will be another big step in that respect.

In the past Slot has been reluctant to turn to Chiesa. With his other forwards looking leggy and goal-shy for Liverpool, though, it is surely now time to unleash the wide man and get the Reds over the line.