More efficient than Ekitike: Qarabag have an in-form dangerman who Liverpool must beware tonight

The Qarabag players who Liverpool will face tonight mightn’t be household names to many fans on Merseyside, but one of them has a better scoring rate in this season’s Champions League than anyone in Arne Slot’s squad.

The Azerbaijani outfit have 10 points from seven games in the competition and still have a decent chance of advancing to the knockout round play-offs even if they lose at Anfield, having recorded some standout results on the European stage in recent months.

They won away to Benfica and held Chelsea to a draw in Baku, and a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last week has put them in an ideal position to progress beyond the league phase in just their second-ever Champions League appearance.

The research conducted by Slot and his coaching staff on Qarabag will have identified one standout attacking threat for Gurban Gurbanov’s side.

Liverpool must beware Qarabag striker Camilo Duran

Camilo Duran has four goals in seven matches in the tournament this season, a tally surpassed by only eight players across the continent (WhoScored), and he netted twice in the victory over Eintracht a week ago.

Curiously, the Colombian centre-forward has scored just once in 16 top-flight matches in Azerbaijan this term, but he’s very much come alive on the European stage.

Duran has outperformed Liverpool’s forwards in the Champions League

Among the Liverpool squad, only Dominik Szoboszlai can match the 23-year-old’s four-goal tally in the Champions League, and the Qarabag marksman has hit his foursome in fewer minutes than the Hungarian midfielder.

Duran might also take encouragement from the Reds’ defensive struggles – with Joe Gomez (injury) and Ibrahima Konate (compassionate leave) not involved tonight, we’ll very likely see Wataru Endo deployed as an emergency centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk.

When watching back his two goals against Eintracht last week, what stands out is the Colombian’s clever positioning and anticipation to get himself into dangerous positions on the edge of the six-yard box, and Slot’s team will need to be wary of such intricate movement from the striker.

Liverpool should get the victory required to ensure direct entry to the round of 16 if they perform to their best tonight, but that has all too rarely been the case this season, and our defence will need to be at their sharpest to thwart the threat posed by the 23-year-old.

The form of Qarabag and their number 17 in the Champions League means that the Reds can’t say they haven’t been forewarned.

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