Paul Merson has shared who he’d pick to play in Liverpool’s midfield against Manchester City tomorrow.

The Reds have had some selection issues in the middle of the park, with a couple of untimely injuries leaving options short. But with players returning to training yesterday following the international break, those troubles appear to have eased.

That should leave Jurgen Klopp able to pick from near-enough a full selection for Saturday’s trip to the Etihad. Nevertheless, after playing the full 90 minutes against Brentford last time out, Paul Merson has urged the manager to once again turn to Wataru Endo.

“Liverpool have a few selection headaches,” the former England midfielder told Sportskeeda. “I think they’ll play Joe Gomez at left-back instead of Kostas Tsimikas. He is more of a defender and he’ll tuck in.

“You’ve gotta be able to defend against City. In midfield, I’d probably play Wataru Endo and push Alexis Mac Allister in the ‘number 8’ position.

“He keeps the ball and that’s the kind of thing you want to do against Man City. If you want to beat City, you’ve got to capitalise on that extra pass that goes through the lines.”

Liverpool urged to start Endo

There’s no doubt that the Endo we see now is better than the Endo that surprisingly rocked up at Anfield in August.

However, you won’t get many Liverpool fans who appear with Merson here.

Of course, we all want to see Mac Allister unleashed in his more natural No.8 role. There’s also a worry that the Argentine will get overrun in the No.6 position against the bigger sides in the Premier League.

A trip to the Etihad is, in many ways, the litmus test for that. If Mac Allister can come through a clash against Pep Guardiola’s side unscathed, then he can anchor the midfield against pretty well any team in the world.

The concern over his suitability for that position may well come to a head tomorrow, though. If City are at it – and they usually are – it could be a tricky day for the 24-year-old fresh from an international sojourn.

Regardless of that, we just don’t see how Klopp goes with Endo.

Despite some of his shortcomings, the manager appears to be placing his trust in Mac Allister. With the Brentford game being just a second Premier League start for Endo, it seems unlikely that Jurgen will throw him in for this one.

The international break fatigue is likely to play a deciding factor in this one. Whoever turns out at the Etihad is in for a big job for Liverpool. We’ll back whoever Jurgen chooses.