Darren Bent believes Roberto Firmino’s spot in Liverpool lineup is under threat

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Diogo Jota’s scintillating run of form in recent weeks for club and country is going to keep the under-fire Roberto Firmino out of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool XI for the near future, suggested ex-England international Darren Bent while speaking to TalkSport.

Firmino, a permanent fixture in the Reds squad over the last few seasons, has found his first-choice spot in the attacking line of Jurgen Klopp’s side come under the scanner following Diogo Jota, Liverpool FC’s summer purchase, having a great goalscoring run for the Merseysiders.

👍 “We know how good Firmino is, he has great technique.”

❌ “He is not going to play ahead of Sadio Mane or Mo Salah.”

❌ “He’s not going to play because Jota has been playing so well!”

Darren Bent says Firmino has no place in the #LFC team right now.

Agree? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/XRWnA8hFWp

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 17, 2020

With a sole goal and a couple of assists since the turn of the new season, Firmino’s uninspiring form in front of the nets is very likely to sideline the Brazillian from upcoming fixtures in the forward department, said Bent, who instead chose to highlight Jota’s newfound success in the Liverpool FC shirt as the major factor behind Firmino’s speculated exclusion from Klopp’s first-team plans.

“On the flip side, if your team is not doing so well and you’re not scoring, that’s when people will maybe criticise you a bit more.

“Firmino is always, ‘I’ve been doing the job for my team, holding the ball up well as the glue that’s holding Salah and Mane together’.

“Jota’s now come in and put pressure on, and people may have opened their eyes a little bit and thought, ‘hold on here, it shouldn’t just be Mane or Salah getting the goals’, because Jota came in and started smashing them as well.”

As Premier League action returns for Liverpool FC on Sunday after a two-week-long international break, Leicester City pay a visit to Anfield for a mouth-watering clash, and it will be interesting to see whether Firmino makes the XI for the weekend showdown, or is Jota once again who lines up alongside Mohammad Salah and Sadio Mane.