Although Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa has mostly come on as a substitute this season, he has shown extremely high efficiency and key impact in his limited playing time.
In Round 1 of the Premier League against Bournemouth, he volleyed home in the 88th minute to help the team regain victory after leading 2-0 and being pegged back; in September against Crystal Palace, he scored an equalizer late in the game, though Eddie Nketiah’s subsequent winner condemned the team to defeat.
When facing Manchester United, he came on as a substitute and quickly assisted Cody Gakpo to score, but unfortunately the team was ultimately beaten by Harry Maguire’s winner; in early December against Sunderland, he even made a long-distance recovery to complete a goal-line clearance, denying Wilson Isidor a certain goal and securing a 1-1 draw. Statistics show that in the games where he contributed goals or assists against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Manchester United, he only played 6 minutes, 13 minutes and 6 minutes respectively.
Reports further point out that compared with only 104 Premier League minutes in the 2024-25 title-winning campaign, Chiesa’s involvement has increased this season. So far, he has accumulated 162 minutes in 12 Premier League substitute appearances, 7 of which came in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Although he was voted Player of the Month by fans in September, his only Premier League start since joining from Juventus for £12.5 million in August 2024 dates back to the rotated game against Brighton after the team won the title last season. His only two starts this season have both been in the EFL Cup, including providing two assists against Southampton and featuring in the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace with the reserve lineup.
Currently, Liverpool are facing a serious shortage of forwards. First-choice striker Alexander Isak underwent surgery for a fibula fracture and will be sidelined until March. Mohamed Salah has left to participate in the AFCON; Cody Gakpo is not at his best after recovering from injury; Dominik Szoboszlai is suspended. Despite the club spending heavily in the summer window to sign Isak, Arnaud Ékitiké and Florian Wirtz to form an attacking trident, Chiesa has a great chance to start at home against Wolves this Saturday amid the current predicament.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Ékitiké is ready, and also stated that Chiesa is another option for the No.9 position, which can be used to share the pressure on Ékitiké or come on when his fitness drops. In addition to Chiesa, Slot also has Jeremie Frimpong and young player Trey Nyoni as options in the attacking third.
In terms of data, statistics show that Chiesa’s goals per 90 minutes and shots per 90 minutes this season are 1.19 and 7.20 respectively, both ranking first in the Premier League—but this is largely due to him mostly coming on late in the game when the opponent’s defenders are low on fitness and the team is pushing forward across the board.
The media believes that given Chiesa’s ability to play multiple positions in the frontcourt and his physical fitness, Slot should trust him and give him a starting opportunity to inject the much-needed urgency into the team when facing Wolves.
