Liverpool midfielder Fabinho is a certain starter against Manchester City despite not starting either game against them in the Premier League last season, according to journalist Ian Doyle.
The Brazilian wasn’t present in the starting line-up for the top of the table clashes last time out, but is widely expected to start against the champions on Sunday.
Doyle certainly thinks so, anyway: “Fabinho may now be one of the first names on the teamsheet for [Jurgen] Klopp, but last season he failed to start either game against City,” he wrote on the Liverpool Echo website.
“That surely won’t be the case on Sunday. But who else figures in the engine room remains very much up for debate.”
OPINION
It’s amazing that Fabinho didn’t start either Premier League against City last time out. That’s incredible to think about when you consider the Brazilian’s influence on the current Reds team. It’s true, as Doyle says, that it’s a case of who starts alongside Fabinho in the middle of the park for Liverpool on Sunday. The former Monaco man will almost certainly take up his usual spot in defensive midfield after being rested against Aston Villa last weekend. However, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is surely pushing for a start with four goals in four games, while regulars like Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and James Milner will all be in with a shout as well. As for Fabinho, though, he is undoubtedly one of the first names on the teamsheet for Klopp at the moment. As per WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old is averaging 2.5 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game, as well as 1.3 key passes, 4.7 long balls and a pass success rate of 86.8%. You can’t not start him against City, but who operates alongside him remains to be seen.
