Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock has given his view on the battle between Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota ahead of their game this weekend.
Coming off the back of their convincing victory in the Champions League against Porto last night, Jürgen Klopp’s men will now get ready to take on Manchester City this weekend, with the two sides coming into the game as number one and two in the Premier League table.
One of the main topics of discussion this season has been the competition for the centre-forward spot between Jota and Firmino, with both players having split time up top this season, with Jota making more appearances so far by a score of eight to five, and the two men both level with three goals apiece.
Speaking to Sky Sports to look ahead to the game on Sunday, Warnock claimed that the battle for the position was very much open and that it would be a very difficult decision by the Liverpool boss to pick someone to start the game:
“I think that is the one position that is probably up for grabs at the weekend. It might be a toss of a coin between Jota and Firmino, and that’s just the quality that both players possess. [Sadio] Mane and [Mohamed] Salah will undoubtedly start, with the start that they’ve had to the season and how dangerous they’re looking. But that is the one position that perhaps Jürgen Klopp will be looking at.”
TIF Thoughts on Stephen Warnock’s comments about Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino at Liverpool…
Will Liverpool win the league this season?
Yes
No
You can certainly see where Warnock is coming from when it comes to the tough decision facing Klopp. On one hand, he certainly seems to trust Jota more, based on the fact he’s played more games and started five of the team’s six Premier League games so far, as well as both Champions League ties, whilst Firmino has only had one start all season.
But at the same time, Firmino’s two goals against Porto show that he is still more than capable of performing when given the opportunity, and is, in a way, the man in form after his display in Europe – so has a legitimate case to make that he’s the man to choose.
With games between the two sides in the past having had major title implications, it certainly isn’t a decision that Klopp should take lightly, and hopefully he’ll make the right decision, because it could end up having a big impact on how their season could end up going.
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