MERSEY BEAT: Liverpool step up when stakes are at their highest

MERSEY BEAT: Liverpool’s run against Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal might appear daunting, but they step up when stakes are at their highest… while Calvert-Lewin’s Everton absence gives Simms another chance to impress

• Liverpool have three big games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal
• Liverpool need around 30 points from their last 12 fixtures to make two four
• It remains to be seen as to whether Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be fit to play

The week that will define Liverpool’s season should, in theory, be approached without worry. Three huge games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal might appear daunting but the big showdowns have not caused the problems this year.

Liverpool have played seven fixtures against the five sides above them in the table thus far and have taken 15 points from a possible 21. When you compare it to the five sides above them, the figures will make you do a double take.

Manchester City have played eight fixtures to date against the rest of the top five and that has yielded 13 points. League leaders Arsenal? 13 points from seven matches; Manchester United? 13 points, also, but this time from eight games.

Tottenham, who are caught in a storm, are clinging to fourth place despite having only three points – a victory against City at home – from seven fixtures; Newcastle, enjoying their finest season in a decade, have taken six points out of seven contests with their rivals.

Domestically, at least, there has been nothing wrong with Liverpool’s mentality when the stakes are at their highest and, for that reason, the next eight days won’t be giving Jurgen Klopp of his players any reasons to lose sleep.

The week that will define Liverpool’s season should, in theory, be approached without worry

Jurgen Klopp’s side have played seven fixtures against the five sides above them in the table thus far and have taken 15 points from a possible 21

Man City have played eight fixtures to date against the rest of the top five and that has yielded 13 points. League leaders Arsenal? 13 points from seven matches; Man United? 13 points

‘It has obviously been disappointing with results on the pitch and with the lack of consistency,’ Andrew Robertson observed. ‘But we now have 12 games to try and fix that, to try and be in the top four, where we want to be. This is an intense week but it’s a week you have to look forward to.’

What happens after, though, is the conundrum. Liverpool are just as likely to win at the Etihad tomorrow as they are to lose at Elland Road two weeks on Monday and until they start showing the positive signs that have been their trademark, the Champions League will remain out of their grasp.

One aspect that could potentially be transformative, however, is the return of Luis Diaz. To scan through the gallery of pictures from Thursday’s training session on the club website gave you an indication of how big this news is for the team: five of the first eight images were of him.

Diaz must be given time to find his rhythm again. This won’t be like last season, when he arrived from FC Porto and exploded into the team with the noise and colour of a firecracker: his team-mates could not believe the speed, quality and intensity he brought to those initial training sessions.

What helped was the fact that Diaz arrived fit. He had barely missed a beat in Portugal and was physically at his peak – six months on the sidelines dramatically changes the landscape for him and Klopp will undoubtedly ease him in gradually.

Tottenham, who are caught in a storm, are clinging to fourth place despite having only three points – a victory against City at home – from seven fixtures

Just having him as an option, however, is enormous. So much has happened since last August, it is easy to forget that he had been shimmering with brilliance early on – his goal against Crystal Palace, for instance, remains a contender for the club’s best of the campaign.

He produced something from nothing to save Liverpool that night and if the Colombian can do similar in the fixtures that will be attritional – such as at Leeds, at home to Nottingham Forest and away at West Ham – they will remain in the fight.

When Liverpool finished fourth in Klopp’s first two years, they qualified for the Champions League with final totals of 76 and 75 points respectively. Since then, the team that has occupied that position has had 71, 66, 67 and 71 points.

Liverpool are going to need in the region of 30 points from their last 12 fixtures to stand any chance of retaining their place in Europe’s most prestigious competition. Diaz, with his jet heels and explosive finishing, significantly improves their chances of doing so.

Ambiguity over Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s fitness…  

More ambiguity around the fitness of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Sean Dyche saying the striker is ‘back working on the grass’ after another ‘little niggle’ – it’s now almost two months since he last played and this can’t be anything other than a demoralising time for the striker.

His absence, though, is going to provide Ellis Simms with an opportunity to make himself a crowd favourite. It would be wrong to start making bold predictions about what the 22-year-old will achieve in the future but what a chance he has to secure a place in Evertonians’ hearts forever more.

The goal he scored at Chelsea to secure a pointy before the international break has transformed the mood and if he were to add another couple in key times before the end of the campaign, it would go a huge way to securing Everton’s safety.

There are certain aspects of Simms’ game that need polishing but the one thing that was always said about him as he coming through the ranks was that he knows how to finish. If Dyche can fill him up with confidence, why can’t he become the hero Everton need this spring?

More ambiguity around the fitness of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Sean Dyche saying the striker is ‘back working on the grass’ after another ‘little niggle’

His absence, though, is going to provide Ellis Simms (above) with an opportunity to make himself a crowd favourite

Steven Gerrard’s Champions League pub trip… 

It was five days before the Champions League final last season and Steven Gerrard, with a spare hour on his hands, had strolled around to his local pub for a quiet drink.

As he sat outside enjoying the sunshine, his eye was drawn to a familiar figure, wearing a baseball cap and walking his dog. Gerrard didn’t think it could be who he imagined it was but, on doing a double take, he was right: it was Jurgen Klopp.

The two men greeted each other warmly and began to talk. Gerrard envisaged, with Liverpool preparing for a showdown with Real Madrid, the conversation would be brief but it was anything but: Klopp was insistent they should settle down with a pint each.

Gerrard, as a young manager himself, was struck by just how calm Klopp was and appreciated even in the biggest moments there is no benefit from football being all consuming. The story is fascinating as retold in an in-depth five-part documentary called Jurgen, produced by The Anfield Wrap.

Steven Gerrard went to the pub five days before the Champions League final last season

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