Darwin Núñez is teetering on the edge of a suspension with the possibility of missing Liverpool’s crucial showdown with Manchester City looming.
Nunez has accumulated eight yellow cards this season, and just two more would trigger a two-match ban for the Uruguayan forward.
Liverpool is already grappling with several selection dilemmas due to injuries to Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Alisson Becker. Despite being substituted at halftime during Liverpool’s recent 4-1 victory over Brentford, Nunez’s fitness is being closely monitored by the staff at Melwood on a day-to-day basis.
However, Liverpool supporters have reason to be apprehensive given Nunez’s disciplinary issues this season, which have frequently posed challenges for the team.
In his 37 appearances across all competitions, Nunez has received 10 yellow cards and was shown a red card against Crystal Palace in August 2022.
With a demanding schedule ahead for Klopp’s side, losing another attacking option would be a significant setback.
Although Mohamed Salah recently returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty and found the net against Brentford, Nunez continues to shoulder a substantial share of the attacking burden. Klopp emphasized this point, stating to reporters after the 4-1 victory over Chelsea, “It is just crazy that he creates that many.
Imagine for a second he would take them all… the numbers would be insane to the extent where you wouldn’t understand it anymore, so it’s normal.”
“For us, it is important because we scored four goals, who cares if we could have scored a fifth or a sixth? It is not important. We need to win football games – and he will score. He scored already.”
“Then setting up in a really important moment the fourth goal, because 3-2 or 4-1 is a big difference, that makes him the player he is for us. The rest will come.”