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Marco Silva must make a drastic change to his starting XI for the trip to Huddersfield by dropping Lucas Digne and recalling Leighton Baines.
On the chalkboard
Digne has been one of Silva’s most consistent and impressive performers since moving to Merseyside in the summer, but the French ace’s severe struggles against Millwall should force the Portuguese manager into a drastic change.
His display at The New Den was a far cry from the standards we’ve come to expect from Digne. The Frenchman cost his side goals as he failed to deal with Lee Gregory’s aerial presence for Millwall’s equaliser, before needless fouls led to the hosts drawing level again in the second half and then Murray Wallace netting a late winner.
The former Barca defender was hardly that impressive in his last Premier League game, either, when Southampton beat Everton 2-1 thanks to the 25-year-old prodding the ball beyond a hapless Jordan Pickford.
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Digne needs to be dropped
It would have been harsh to drop Digne after his own goal, but playing a hand in all three of Millwall’s goals should be a big wake-up call for Silva. Huddersfield could look to exploit the 5 foot 10 defender’s rash decision making, as Jan Siewert aims to get off on the right foot as David Wagner’s successor.
While Baines is no spring chicken, he would likely have drawn on his years of experience to know there was no need to commit unnecessary fouls on Saturday, especially considering Millwall had already demonstrated their dominance over Everton at set pieces throughout the match.
With Everton suffering a drastic slump in form and this time of the season an endurance test for even the strongest squads in the Premier League, the Huddersfield clash on Tuesday is the ideal time to bring Baines back into the fold – providing both fresh legs and a calming influence.