'Special' Liverpool ace confirms that he should finally start for Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool's injury list has been the bane of their existence this season.

Although three or four injuries across the entire team wouldn't be the end of the world, the fact that Arne Slot's defence has often had three players absent has probably been a hard pill to swallow.

Due to this, and the Reds' lack of depth, their defensive line has been brought into question on more than one occasion with several players being linked with a summer move.

However, now that one of Slot's injury-prone men seem to be back to full fitness, it could be his time to shine and his chance to prove why the Anfield outfit have chosen to keep him around for so long.

Joe Gomez has to start for Liverpool in their game against Nottingham Forest

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There's no hiding from the fact that Joe Gomez is a 'special' player.

In fact, up until he injured his knee in the 2020-21 season, the Englishman was Virgil van Dijk's main defensive partner.

Since that injury, the former Charlton man has been side-lined on several occasions with his body seemingly being made of glass.

However, now that he's returned from his latest ailment, it feels like now could be his time to shine, especially since Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are injured.

Gomez is 28 years old now and with the 2026 World Cup just around the corner, a solid end to the 2025-26 season could be exactly what he needs to get into Thomas Tuchel's plans, especially because of how versatile he is.

The Englishman's most recent cameo against Brighton further proved why Slot should start against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Joe Gomez was in top form against Brighton in their FA Cup tie

Due to Gomez's injury history, it's not hard to see why Slot has often chosen against starting the Englishman on a regular basis.

And, when he has gone against his better judgement, the 28-year-old has often left the pitch early due to injury.

However, during his 20-minute cameo against Brighton, the centre-back rolled back the years and proved why Jurgen Klopp chose to bring him to Anfield in the first place.

According to Sofascore, the defender maintained a 100 per cent pass accuracy during his cameo and even won 100 per cent of the tackles he attempted.

He may have committed a couple of fouls during that time but his confidence on the ball was second to none.

The added stability that the centre-back brought to Liverpool's starting XI was rather helpful and, since Forest beat Fenerbahce 3-0 last time out, they'll have a point to prove.

It will also be Vitor Pereira's second game in charge and, if we look back to when the Portuguese manager first took over at Wolves, he won them a fair few games at the start.

Liverpool have a lot riding on Sunday's game and, if they lose, they could end up missing out on a top four spot, which, for a team of their quality, would be horrendous.