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Why Liverpool star Darwin Nunez isn't playing vs Wolves amid patchy start to season

Darwin Nunez scored his first goal of the season for Liverpool against Bournemouth
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is not in the matchday squad as the Reds take on Wolves in the Premier League. The Uruguayan forward is absent and hasn't been named on the bench.

According to Liverpool's official website, the striker has not traveled to Wolverhampton because of illness. Nunez could return for the Champions League clash with Bologna midweek.

So far this season, Nunez has only started one game. He scored against Bournemouth last weekend and then kept his place in the team for the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

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It was expected that Nunez would drop out of the starting line-up as the Reds take on Wolves. Former Molineux favorite Diogo Jota has been the first pick as the Reds' number nine so far in this campaign.

As he looks to build momentum, it is an untimely absence for Nunez. He came back late in the summer after playing for his country in the Copa America and while he will get plenty of minutes when he is available, could have built on a couple of promising performances.

Virgil van Dijk has given Darwin Nunez some advice

Arne Slot was asked about how he intended to get the best out of Nunez at Anfield before his first match in the Premier League against Ipswich Town. "Bring him as much as we can into scoring positions," he responded. "But again, I think every individual benefits from team performance.

"If we, as a team, can bring our attackers – not only him, but also the other ones – as much as we can into dangerous positions, these players will score goals. That’s also what we’ve seen in pre-season, where we even scored goals out of smaller chances.

"So it’s up to us to bring him, or Diogo or other attackers, as much as we can into promising positions for them. And then he, like all the others, will score the goals."