Paul Merson says Liverpool’s £35m man should be dropped because of Jack Grealish

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Arne Slot is facing a huge selection dilemma ahead of Liverpool’s first Merseyside derby of the 2025/26 season.

Although the Reds have maintained a perfect record across all competitions, Virgil van Dijk’s last-gasp winner against Atletico Madrid marked the third time in five matches that the club have squandered a two-goal lead.

Furthermore, the Champions League win extended the record of relying on winning goals in the last ten minutes and beyond following Mohamed Salah’s drought-breaking penalty in the 95th minute against Burnley.

Indeed, Liverpool continue to find a way to win, but their Merseyside rivals will travel to Anfield for the first time in years with confidence, having embarked on a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions since their opening-day loss to Leeds United.

And one of the main reasons behind the Blues’ resurgence is the immediate impact of loan signing Jack Grealish, and his ever-present threat is likely to force Slot into a difficult choice heading into Saturday’s clash.

Conor Bradley should start over Jeremie Frimpong vs Everton

While Paul Merson is expecting Liverpool to continue their 100% record against Everton, the pundit shared in his Premier League predictions for Sportskeeda that he believes Conor Bradley is more suited to deal with Grealish.

“I would also choose Conor Bradley at right-back because of Grealish. If you play Jeremie Frimpong there, he’s not a good defender, and he bombs forward all the time. So I think Bradley is the best choice at right-back in this game.

“Arne Slot will have another headache on the other side, where Milos Kerkez has failed to hit the ground running. Not only did Andy Robertson replace him in the first half vs Burnley, but the Scot also scored against Atletico in the Champions League.

“There’s just so many options available for Liverpool, and Slot will have to ensure he keeps all of them happy.”

Jeremie Frimpong sustained a hamstring injury on his Premier League debut for the Reds and recently returned to the squad for the trip to Turf Moor, where his cross struck the hand of Hannibal Meijbri, leading to the match-winning penalty.

He started in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, and Frimpong left his Liverpool teammates in awe after an impressive display.

Meanwhile, Bradley replaced the Dutchman just before the hour mark and appeared nowhere near his best form as he was involved in the series of errors that led to Marcus Llorente’s equaliser.

Frimpong has been defensively solid for the Reds despite expectations, and while Grealish failed to continue his scintillating start to life at Everton against his former employers, Aston Villa, he is indeed their most potent attacker with four assists in his first two starts.

Dominik Szoboszlai impressed as a makeshift right-back in Frimpong’s absence, but the Hungarian is likely to return to the midfield on Saturday, and Slot must get his right-back selection perfect if he is to neutralise the Blues’ main threat.

How do Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong compare?

Both of Liverpool’s natural right-back options have dealt with their injury woes thus far this season, but now that they have returned to the side, the real battle for who will become Trent Alexander-Arnold’s successor begins.

Bradley spent the majority of last season deputising for the now Real Madrid man while Frimpong was playing week in week out under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.

And while the defensive contributions are close, Frimpong just edges his Reds teammate in this regard, although the Northern Ireland international played 14 fewer times.

However, Everton will undoubtedly look to get Grealish on the ball as much as possible; therefore, Slot must be confident that whoever he selects to line up against the forward can keep him quiet, and as history suggests, the man for the job is Frimpong.