Liverpool legend Ray Houghton feels Jurgen Klopp will have a selection headache for the game against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, following James Milner’s impressive performance in the Reds’ 7-0 rout of Maribor in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The midfielder, who played regularly as a left-back last season, has struggled for game time in the present campaign.
Prior to the game against Maribor, Milner had managed to clock up just 289 minutes over eight appearances in all competitions in the present campaign.
But the 31-year-old started in Slovenia in midfield and put in an impressive performance, with the former Manchester City man also providing the assist for Philippe Coutinho’s goal in the contest.
And Houghton, who praised Milner’s attitude, thinks Klopp will now have a tough job on his hands in selecting Liverpool’s team against Spurs on Sunday.
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“What a great attitude”, he said on LFC TV, while talking about Milner.
“He could have been sitting on the sidelines for the last few games and sulking a little bit that he has not got his opportunity and others have been put in ahead of him.
“After the great season which he had last season, he has not been in the team as regularly this season.
“But his attitude is brilliant, the manager says to him, “go on, here’s your armband”, because the manager believes in him and trusts him, he knows what’s he’s going to get out of James Milner.
“If you give him a chance, he’ll go out there and perform.
“And the manager now has a little bit of a headache for Sunday and that’s what you want.
“And I think it’s a great headache to have because you have people in form, people confident and believing in themselves.
“It will be fascinating to see what his team selection for Sunday is because it’s obviously a crucial game for Liverpool to go to Wembley and play Tottenham.”
Milner, who joined Liverpool from Manchester City in 2015, has thus far turned out 94 times for the Reds, scoring 14 times and setting up 20 goals.
