Liverpool star believes he SHOULD start every big game - but Arne Slot disagrees

Liverpool don't tend to pick one star in major fixtures. He feels they've got that wrong, however.

Liverpool face Manchester City at Anfield later today in a massive fixture. The Reds desperately need a statement win like this - one that cements their turnaround in recent form.

They also simply must keep pace with the top-five race. Liverpool sit in sixth heading into this, four points behind Chelsea with a game in hand.

Lose and they'll remain four points behind. In fact, lose by a couple and they'll drop below Brentford on goal difference.

It's a big fixture, then - one of the biggest remaining of the season. And that means one Liverpool star feels he should be starting it, even if he almost certainly won't.

Curtis Jones and his squad place

There’s a lot of speculation around Curtis Jones right now and rightfully so. The Scouser has under 18 months remaining on his contract and Inter felt confident enough to put an offer forward at the transfer deadline.

The situation is complicated by the fact Jones doesn’t have a solid first-team place. He’s at a point in his career where he really should have that - but it’s up for debate whether it should be at Liverpool.

The Athletic reports that Jones believes he should be starting every big game for the Reds. Arne Slot clearly disagrees, given he essentially never picks the midfielder in major fixtures.

Take the two matches against Arsenal this season, for instance. Jones started neither but did get 30 minutes in the home fixture. The away clash last month, however, saw him sit it out as an unused substitute.

Slot hasn’t exactly given reason for encouragement, either. Not publicly, anyway.

He’s talked about Jones being unlucky that there haven't been many injuries in midfield, suggesting that’s the only real way he’ll get regular game time. That’s not going to be good enough for a player of this quality.

And given Alexis Mac Allister has struggled for consistency himself, Jones will rightfully question why he’s not been given similar chances. But it increasingly feels that those chances just simply won’t be given out.

As he heads towards the end of his deal, few would be surprised at this stage if the midfielder moved on. As gutting as that would be.

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