Roy Keane has praised Liverpool's "cocky" midfielder, Curtis Jones, after he was recalled to face Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp has welcomed back Sadio Mane, Fabinho and Alisson Becker into his starting XI after they all missed Liverpool's midweek defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Klopp has opted against starting either of his two new centre-backs, Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak, with Fabinho partnering Jordan Henderson at the heart of defence, whilst Manchester City have opted to start without a recognised centre-forward.
Instead, Klopp has chosen to bring Jones into the XI for James Milner to add more energy to his midfield, alongside Thiago Alcantara and Gini Wijnaldum to battle against Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.
Keane, though, has admitted he's a big fan of Jones, who has already started more matches this season than in his Liverpool career combined.
“In any big game, the middle of the park is huge and has a big say in who wins the game of football," Keane told Sky Sports.
"I’m glad to see him in there, every time I see him, he looks comfortable and confident. From what I hear, he’s a pretty cocky kid, takes on the structures pretty quickly, a sign of a decent player and he’s in there for a reason because Klopp likes him and trusts him.
"It’s a great boost for his confidence, and there’s only one way to find out about these young lads: it’s how they do in these games.”
Jones will be up against the in-form Gundogan in midfield. The 30-year-old has scored four goals and registered two assists in his last six matches, drawing praise from Graeme Souness.
"(He's a) Fabulous player. City have done remarkably well, I thought they would struggle without Aguero’s goals, there were a couple of games where it was nick and tuck where the 1-0s would’ve been 3 or 4-0 with Aguero," Souness said.
"They’ve looked extremely solid at the back. This little man (Gundogan), he’s technically gifted. He’s not the quickest - tell me what he’s got: a great football brain.”
