Former Liverpool star Jason McAteer has indicated he is unsure whether Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has reached the stage where he can start against Manchester City on Sunday.
The former Arsenal midfielder scored in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Genk at Anfield on Tuesday night and has scored four in his last four appearances for the Reds in all competitions.
But he is expected to be back on the bench on Sunday when Manchester City visit Anfield for the marquee clash of the weekend at the top of the league table.
Oxlade-Chamberlain returned to fitness this season following a lengthy layoff due to a serious knee injury and McAteer still does not feel he is at the peak of his fitness.
The former Red believes that the 26-year-old is an effective option from the bench because of his ability to add pace and power to the team in the latter stages of a game.
But he indicated he does not know if Oxlade-Chamberlin is ready to start in an intense game such as the Manchester City clash on Sunday.
McAteer said on LFC TV after the Genk game: “If we are being specific about Oxlade-Chamberlain, I’d say now he is a very effective substitute for half-an-hour.
“I think you will get a lot out of him in half-an-hour because he comes on, changes it and in the last part of the game where fitness is going and fatigue starts to set in and he can affect it.
“I don’t think he is at a 100 per cent yet.
“[Before] he got his injury, I wouldn’t have thought twice about starting him, but now don’t know whether he is at it 100 per cent to start against Manchester City.”
All eyes will be on who Jurgen Klopp chooses to start in the big clash against Manchester City at the weekend.
