Rúben Dias is aware of the reason why Jürgen Klopp can finally employ a Liverpool weapon that was previously concealed from Manchester City.

This weekend, one Liverpool player will start his first Premier League match against Manchester City, but he has already demonstrated the damage he is capable of causing.

The determination of whether the Community Shield qualifies as a competitive fixture or not affects Darwin Núñez’s potential debut in the curtain-raiser for Liverpool last season. Regardless, it was a memorable farewell, as the prospective club record signing led his team to a 3-1 victory with a penalty kick and a goal of his own.

Initially, he earned a penalty kick by heading a cross against the arm of City defender Rúben Dias, which was subsequently converted by Mohamed Salah. Subsequently, he converted the penalty kick himself in stoppage time. Few would have predicted that, on the basis of his merit, he would be benched for the first Premier League meeting between the two teams in October, one of the most significant games of the year, following this explosive 31-minute cameo.

As his center forward, Jürgen Klopp opted for the seasoned Roberto Firmino rather than Nez, who had scored a meager two goals in his previous eight appearances. However, despite the passage of 72 minutes since his introduction from the bench, he continued to occupy the center of attention.

Núñez missed a crucial opportunity to transfer the ball to Salah in order to secure the three points for Liverpool, who led 1-0. Additionally, he should have scored when Diogo Jota passed the ball to him on the left, but his dinked finish over Ederson was egregiously incorrect.

Just before Christmas, in the round of 16 of the Carabao Cup, the two teams met again, and Núñez was given the opportunity to start. Once more, errors occurred in the penalty area: Joe Gomez and Joël Matip both found him in a gap behind the defense, but he failed to convert on both occasions with his shot dragged wide. However, he did contribute to the 3-2 loss by assisting Salah by displaying remarkable speed as he powered past Aymeric Laporte and positioned the ball across the box for the latter to convert.

The subsequent matchup, which took place on April 1 at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League reversal, also witnessed five goals; however, City emerged victorious with four in a dominant fashion. Núñez was substituted for this match in the final twenty minutes, after which the match had already been decided and Liverpool had virtually surrendered.

Nevertheless, Nez’s aggregate statistics against City from the previous season are, in a sense, encouraging. He accomplished the following in 159 minutes: one goal, two assists, two huge opportunities (one of which was converted into a score), and three missed opportunities. Although his output could have been significantly higher, he also contributed to Liverpool breaking open the greatest team in the world seven times. It was precisely the type of disorder for which he gained notoriety.

In his first seven appearances this season, Nez has performed more like an exceptional center forward and less like a wildcard, contributing directly to 13 goals. Following an impressive international break with Uruguay, during which he scored three times in victories over Argentina and Bolivia for his country, he is expected to make his Premier League debut against City this weekend, assuming he does not become excessively fatigued after playing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning UK time prior to a lengthy journey back to Merseyside.

In light of Nez’s protracted adaptation, Klopp will be hoping to now fully deploy a weapon that he partially concealed during the previous season. After witnessing him breach their defense on multiple occasions, Dias and company will already be wary of his capabilities, and they will be cognizant of how challenging it may be to contain him on Saturday for a possible 90 minutes.