Should Daniel Sturridge start against Swansea? Jurgen Klopp left him on the bench for last week's 5-1 victory over Hull City, and according to ex-Red Neil Mellor, Sturridge has little chance of making the starting XI today.
In his Friday column for the Liverpool Echo, Mellor mused:
"Sturridge may have to make do with a place on the bench again. Firmino is in excellent form, making the number nine position his own [and] it's difficult for Origi and Sturridge to get get back in".
In my view, a fully-fit Daniel Sturridge should always be the first name on the team-sheet, but the reality is that Sturridge remains unreliable, even with Jurgen Klopp's effective management of his fitness.
Case in point: Last week, £30m-rated Sturridge missed three full days of training with a minor injury issue, which consequently made it hard for Klopp to select him against Hull.
Fitness notwithstanding, it's basically Christian Benteke all over again. In-denial Liverpool fans won't see it, but Klopp is slowly freezing Sturridge out for the same reason he jettisoned Benteke: he doesn't fit Klopp's high intensity gegenpressing style.
Firmino fits the counter-pressing style to a tee, which is the primary reason he'll start more game league games than Sturridge this season (including Swansea).
* Sep 2016: Described by Robbie Fowler as 'exceptional':
In his Friday column for the Liverpool Echo, Mellor mused:
"Sturridge may have to make do with a place on the bench again. Firmino is in excellent form, making the number nine position his own [and] it's difficult for Origi and Sturridge to get get back in".
In my view, a fully-fit Daniel Sturridge should always be the first name on the team-sheet, but the reality is that Sturridge remains unreliable, even with Jurgen Klopp's effective management of his fitness.
Case in point: Last week, £30m-rated Sturridge missed three full days of training with a minor injury issue, which consequently made it hard for Klopp to select him against Hull.
Fitness notwithstanding, it's basically Christian Benteke all over again. In-denial Liverpool fans won't see it, but Klopp is slowly freezing Sturridge out for the same reason he jettisoned Benteke: he doesn't fit Klopp's high intensity gegenpressing style.
Firmino fits the counter-pressing style to a tee, which is the primary reason he'll start more game league games than Sturridge this season (including Swansea).
* Sep 2016: Described by Robbie Fowler as 'exceptional':
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