Liverpool could unveil rarely-seen attack as Arsenal…

Liverpool could unveil rarely-seen attack as Arsenal expose major problem

It was another in a long list of facts and statistics that underlined just why Liverpool have underwhelmed so spectacularly this season.

But that didn't make it any less revealing.

During their stirring comeback to earn a point at home to long-time Premier League leaders Arsenal last Sunday, the Reds managed 19 shots inside the box - the most number the Gunners had faced in a top-flight match since records began almost 20 years ago.

Of course, a missed penalty from Mohamed Salah and a string of impressive saves from visiting goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale went some way to explaining why Jurgen Klopp's side were only able to convert two of those opportunities in securing a 2-2 draw.

It pointed, though, to an issue that has contributed greatly to the travails of this Liverpool side - a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal that has rarely been so glaringly apparent during Klopp's tenure.

Not so much at Anfield, in fairness. Liverpool have only failed to score in one home Premier League game this season - the goalless draw with Chelsea in January - and while the total of 36 in 14 games is skewed somewhat by 16 being netted in two historic victories over Bournemouth and Manchester United, there have still only been five matches where they have scored fewer than twice.

But away from home is a completely different story. Going into this weekend's round of fixtures, Liverpool's total of 14 goals in 15 away Premier League games was the second lowest of any team in the top 11 - essentially those not in a relegation battle - with only Chelsea having scored fewer. In the eight league away games played in 2023, Klopp's side have scored only four times.

Liverpool travel to Leeds United - the only away team to win at Anfield in the top flight this season - on Monday, after which they finish their road trips with games at West Ham United, Leicester City and Southampton.

And if the Reds don't score four times in those four games, they will set an unwanted club record with the lowest number of away goals in a Premier League season. The current benchmark is the 18 in 19 games which Liverpool struggled to muster in 2006/07 and 2009/10, both under Rafael Benitez, albeit the former not preventing them from finishing third.

The lowest previous such tally during the Klopp era was the 33 they scored in 2016/17 and the 2019/20 campaign in which they won the title. By contrast, last season's tally of 45 is only outstripped by the 48 netted in the 2013/14 season with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

It hasn't helped that Liverpool have had only 11 different goalscorers in the Premier League this season, of which four have scored just once. Should nobody new find the mark between now and full-time on May 28, it will match the Reds' lowest such spread of scorers in the top flight in 20 years.

Klopp, however, could well point to the fact what at the start of the season was poised to be his first-choice attack has been so rarely seen, due not least to the absence of Luis Diaz, who is likely to make a significant step in his return to fitness by making the bench at Elland Road on Monday for his first matchday squad involvement since suffering a knee injury at Arsenal way back in October.

Diaz, playing the left. had been expected to form a partnership with Mohamed Salah on the opposite flank and big-money summer signing Darwin Nunez down the middle. Instead, they've featured together on the pitch in the Premier League for just 206 minutes - less than 8% of the campaign to date.

With Diaz now primed for his long-waited comeback, that figure could be improved upon on Monday. But, regardless of who plays, Liverpool know they have to find a cure for their goalscoring travel sickness.

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