Ben Davies could finally make his debut as the center-back curse strikes Liverpool again

Ben Davies, who was signed in the January transfer window for a fee of £1.6million from Preston, is yet to feature for Liverpool. The 25-year-old center-back was bought along with Ozan Kabak but has only made the bench for the Reds so far while Kabak already has a few matches under his belt.

Davies was brought in as cover as Liverpool looked to address injuries to Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip. Over the next few weeks, Liverpool used numerous pairings in the center-back position except a combination involving Davies.

Davies could make his debut for the Reds against Fulham on Sunday as the latest addition to the injury list happens to be new boy Kabak himself.

The center-back curse continues

Kabak is the latest Liverpool center-back to sustain an injury.

It’s been a rough season for the 2019/20 Premier League champions. They appear to be cursed in the center-back department and whoever has been thrown into the team’s backline has ended up injured.

The makeshift defenders weren’t spared, as well, as Fabinho and Jordan Henderson both sustained injuries which saw them miss important games. It is still unclear when Henderson will return to the first team.

The Liverpool manager was unable to hide his frustrations ahead of Sunday’s clash as he confirmed that Kabak had sustained an injury.

“If somebody comes to me and tells me ‘We have a player with a minor problem’, I can tell it’s a center-half. That’s how it is, all the time. It’s unbelievable,” said Klopp.

Ben Davies could finally make his debut against Fulham

With Kabak out injured, Ben Davies could earn himself a debut if Fabinho returns to midfield.

Liverpool has been hit by their worst defensive crisis this season, with a number of players missing for long periods. However, they are yet to use Ben Davies in defence. He had a few niggles that kept him out of the team and did not even make the bench during Liverpool’s last match.

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With Kabak out for the Fulham game, Jurgen Klopp will have to take a headcount to see who is available. If the manager opts for stability, he could go for Fabinho and Nathaniel Philips at centre-back, which means Davies will have to wait to make his first appearance for the club.

However, after losing five of their last six games at home, Jurgen Klopp could switch things up and move Fabinho to midfield and play Ben Davies in the centre of defence.

Published 06 Mar 2021, 22:38 IST