Brendan Rodgers may be gone, but Liverpool are still struggling to score goals, and that's underlined by the fact that the team has scored 2+ goals in a game only TWICE all season. The club's strikers have been plagued by injury this season, but 'awesome' LFC striker Christian Benteke is currently match fit, and according to Arsenal legend Martin Keown, he should be the first name on the team-sheet this weekend.
Previewing Liverpool's trip to Manchester City, Keown explained:
"I don’t think Klopp will go without a striker again like he did at Stamford Bridge. He has to play Christian Benteke. At Dortmund he had Robert Lewandowski as his main man so he likes to use a central striker and Benteke can be that man".
This seems like a no-brainer, but as Keown notes, Jurgen Klopp started the Chelsea game with no dedicated striker in the starling line-up, and the Reds came away from Stamford Bridge with all three points.
In that game, Benteke - reportedly on £140k-a-week - came on in the 65th minute, and ended up scoring the third goal, so there's definitely an argument for using the Belgian as an impact sub.
On the other hand, what's the point of spending £32m on a striker if he's not going to start the biggest games of the season? At Chelsea, Benteke had just returned from injury, so it made sense to be cautious.
That's not the case now, though. Benteke didn't feature in Belgium's recent friendly with Italy, but he's been training with the national team (and with Liverpool), so he should be fit and raring to go for Saturday.
If Klopp leaves both Benteke and Sturridge on the bench, then Divock Origi will almost certainly start, but if he's the answer against Man City, then someone is asking the wrong question.
Author: Jaimie K
Previewing Liverpool's trip to Manchester City, Keown explained:
"I don’t think Klopp will go without a striker again like he did at Stamford Bridge. He has to play Christian Benteke. At Dortmund he had Robert Lewandowski as his main man so he likes to use a central striker and Benteke can be that man".
This seems like a no-brainer, but as Keown notes, Jurgen Klopp started the Chelsea game with no dedicated striker in the starling line-up, and the Reds came away from Stamford Bridge with all three points.
In that game, Benteke - reportedly on £140k-a-week - came on in the 65th minute, and ended up scoring the third goal, so there's definitely an argument for using the Belgian as an impact sub.
On the other hand, what's the point of spending £32m on a striker if he's not going to start the biggest games of the season? At Chelsea, Benteke had just returned from injury, so it made sense to be cautious.
That's not the case now, though. Benteke didn't feature in Belgium's recent friendly with Italy, but he's been training with the national team (and with Liverpool), so he should be fit and raring to go for Saturday.
If Klopp leaves both Benteke and Sturridge on the bench, then Divock Origi will almost certainly start, but if he's the answer against Man City, then someone is asking the wrong question.
Author: Jaimie K
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