Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino is likely to miss out on Brazil’s friendly with Senegal on Friday, according to the Express.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Reds’ striker could start on the bench as Brazil coach, Tite, looks set to hand Neymar his 100th cap for the South Americans.
The Express report that Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus could be preferred to the £180,000-a-week forward [Spotrac], with Everton expected to complete the front-three for the game against the Africans.
Jesus is suggested to be potentially preferred to lead the line after being used more sparingly in the Premier League this season.
OPINION
This would be a big surprise given the success that Firmino has had for the Reds at the beginning of the Premier League season. Firmino has been in great form and would have welcomed the opportunity to lead the line for Brazil in both of the games in the international break. The 28-year-old played a leading role in the recent Copa America success for his country, being involved in five goals in his six appearances as he reiterated his importance. On top of that, Firmino has already contributed to six goals in the Premier League and has been a constant threat to opposing defences, compared to Jesus, who has only scored twice and added a single assist. Firmino offers much more than Jesus in the final third, having averaged three shots per game on top of 1.4 key passes according to WhoScored, and is much more of a complete forward that could be utilised by Tite. Liverpool fans will not be angered one little bit by the decision, as they would much rather see one of their star men return to Melwood fully fit and fresh, and should Firmino be benched, he will do just that this time next week.
