Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has called for Jurgen Klopp to drop Roberto Firmino from his starting XI.
The Brazilian has featured 247 times since Klopp took charge in 2015 - more than any other player - but has seen his goal tally suffer a steady decline in recent years.
Firmino managed only nine Premier League goals throughout last season - his lowest tally since joining the club - and questions have been raised over his place in the team having only netted once in 10 outings across all competitions so far this term too.
The form of summer signing Diogo Jota, who has already scored four times in nine games for his new club, has increased the scrutiny on Firmino's starting spot, and Aldridge believes that he could benefit from a rest.
"I am still a big Bobby Firmino fan, I love him as a player and what he brings to the side, but things are not good with him and haven't been for some time now. He's dipped well below his best for the last year or so and maybe he does need a rest," Aldridge told the Liverpool Echo.
"He certainly needs something because at the moment we're not seeing the player who has played such a key role in the rise under Jurgen Klopp.
"He's blunt, he's lost that sharpness and he's not getting in the box enough. He will know and the manager will know - I do myself as a centre-forward - that it's just not happening for him at the moment.
"He seems to be doing all his work in areas where it's not hurting defenders and needs to be causing them problems in and around the box. I do still think we need him because he's a fantastic player but the manager has got to find a way to get him ticking again in the way he was a couple of years ago."
Klopp has only used two players - Neven Subotic and Roman Weidenfeller - more often than he has used Firmino throughout his entire managerial career.
Barney Corkhill
