Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has warned Reds manager Jurgen Klopp that he cannot play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita alongside each other against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Reds duo have struggled with injuries during their time on Merseyside, but the England international is now in red-hot form. Sky Sports pundit Warnock, though, feels that he cannot be paired with the Guinean in the middle of the park.
“I think he [Oxlade-Chamberlain] will be starting more in the Premier League soon enough,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “You look at his creativity and he can beat players with the ball.
“The difficult thing is to play him and Keita together with Fabinho. I think you do lose that balance without another defensive minded player. You can play Oxlade-Chamberlain with Fabinho and another but not Keita.”
OPINION
This is an interesting take on things from Warnock. Obviously Fabinho is one of the first names on the team sheet for Klopp and certainly the most automatic selection in the Reds midfield. He is the holding midfielder and the most ostensibly defensive midfielder in the middle of the park for Liverpool, but you need an all-round midfielder alongside him if Oxlade-Chamberlain or Keita are in the three. However, against world class opposition like City, you can’t go all-out attack with both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita in from the start. So perhaps a midfield three of Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum is what the doctor ordered against Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday. Oxlade-Chamberlain must start, though, and the statistics demonstrate why. As per WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old has scored four times this season and is averaging 1.9 shots and 1.3 dribbles per game with an average pass success rate 89.2%. He is bang in form and must get the nod on Saturday.
