Jamie Carragher believes Roberto Firmino will start instead of Diogo Jota against Manchester City.

The Reds take on City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Jurgen Klopp set to choose between Jota and Firmino in attack.

The former scored a brilliant hat-trick away to Atalanta in midweek, while the latter’s form has been poor of late, leading to calls for him to be dropped.

It is a crucial decision either way as Liverpool aim to pull eight points clear of their main Premier League title rivals.

Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher explained why he thinks Firmino will earn the trust of Klopp this weekend:

Firmino’s return will be tactical, not controversial. He is always going to be at his most effective against a side like City.

Liverpool and Firmino’s most impressive Premier League performances this season were against Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton.

Why? Because Liverpool excel playing teams that attempt to play from the back and Firmino is Klopp’s main disruptor – the first point of the high press. No Premier League player won possession more than him last season, Firmino doing so on 37 occasions.

Under Klopp, Firmino has executed this specialist role as well as any No 9 in the world, as vital to the package of the Liverpool front three as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s goals.

Changing that formula against a team of City’s style would go against what has worked brilliantly throughout Klopp’s tenure, Firmino tasked with denying space for centre-backs or deep midfielders trying to play from back to front.

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I agree with Carragher’s prediction, even though there are understandable calls for Jota to start.

It is clear who is in the better form out of the two, but for this specific fixture, Firmino still feels like the logical man to start. Not only does he know City inside out, but his off-the-ball work could be so important, with the hosts likely to have plenty of possession.

He may not offer the attacking spark that Jota currently has, but that understated work which goes unnoticed is required against a team of City’s ilk.

I think Jota could be a devastating impact substitute in the second half, however, and if Firmino fails to deliver again, he then deserves to lose his place after the international break.

Should Jota start over Firmino against Man City?

Yes

No