Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain close to first league start after impressing Klopp in recent weeks

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is closing in on his first Premier League start since joining Liverpool in the final stages of the summer transfer window from Arsenal.

The Reds midfielder has been restricted to appearances off the bench since his arrival, but made his second start of the campaign for Liverpool against Maribor in the Champions League on Wednesday (1 November) – his first was during their EFL Cup loss against Leicester.

Jurgen Klopp was mighty impressed with his contribution during their 3-0 win over Maribor and indicated he could make his first league start when they travel to London to take on West Ham United on Saturday (4 November).

Moreover, Liverpool are facing a growing list of injured players especially in midfield with Georginio Wijnaldum the latest to join Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in the treatment room, while winger Sadio Mane is also sidelined. According to the Belfast Telegraph, it is almost certain that Oxlade-Chamberlain will be deployed from the start against Slaven Bilic's side at the weekend.

"If he starts a Champions League game, he is not far from starting a Premier League game, no?" Klopp said, as quoted by the Belfast Telegraph.

"He was good, he offered a lot, and I loved his counter-pressing situations. I'm not sure he did this a lot of times in his life already so it was really nice to see," the German coach explained.

It is not the first time that Oxlade-Chamberlain has come under the manager's radar, as Klopp heaped similar praise on the midfielder after his 24-minute cameo during their 3-0 win over Hudderfield last weekend (28 October).

The German manager praised the former Arsenal star's positive style of play and believes the player himself does not realise the quality he possesses. He also praised the midfielder's attitude on the training pitch despite his lack of game since his £35m ($46.3m) move from London to Merseyside.

"And I do want to specifically mention Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He has shown his class each and every time he has had the opportunity on the pitch and the weekend was another example of this," Klopp told Liverpool's official site after their win over Huddersfield.

"He is like dynamite when he comes on. Aggressive in the most positive way. Front foot always. Looking to attack and create. These performances come because of how good his attitude is in training at Melwood.

"He has the highest quality in everything he does; sometimes I think he is the last to realise this," the Reds boss explained.