Mohamed Salah can prove former Everton ace Pat Nevin completely wrong if he plays well for Liverpool in their Premier League clash on Saturday.
The Reds are set to face Brentford in their ninth Premier League game of the season.
Before Liverpool faced Eintracht Frankfurt and beat them 5-1 on Wednesday, some fans were likely a tad worried about what Keith Andrews’ men had in store for them.
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However, now that Arne Slot has seemingly found a new system that works, Liverpool’s fans will be hoping for a win.
There was, however, one thing missing from Wednesday’s win, and that was Salah. Slot didn’t choose to start him and instead chose to use Florian Wirtz on the right wing.
Indeed, he did bring him on towards the end of the clash, but again, he failed to perform to the standards expected of him.
Mohamed Salah looks on during Liverpool vs Man Utd
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
But now that Salah has had a rest and may have collected his thoughts, he could be in contention to start on Saturday, which would give him an ideal chance to prove Nevin’s claim about him completely wrong.
Pat Nevin doesn’t think Mohamed Salah should start for Liverpool v Brentford
Last season was undoubtedly the best of Salah’s career.
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He was on a completely different level to the rest of the Premier League’s players, with the attacker likely to have been in with a shout for the Ballon d’Or if Liverpool had got further than they did in the Champions League.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, many, including Alan Shearer, thought that Liverpool would be unstoppable, especially with the likes of Salah and Alexander Isak leading their attacking line.
That, however, has been far from the case with Nevin saying that Salah should be kept on the bench for Liverpool’s game against Brentford.
“It was a big call to leave Salah on the bench. It is big to say dropped – but it kind of is that because he hadn’t done well enough recently,” he said on the Football Daily Podcast.
“A Premier League starting XI without Salah would be very unusual. I’m someone who is all for honesty. If you are the best player for that moment you play – it doesn’t matter what your name is.
“For a little while, that hasn’t been Salah in this team. We all know how fabulous he is, how much we love him, his capabilities of suddenly scoring a phenomenal amount of goals.
“But, if you’re the players behind him you’re thinking: ‘Give me a chance, we need to do something else.’
“If you’ve lost those four games in a row previously and then won against Frankfurt, is it so much of a shock if he doesn’t start the next game? I’m afraid not.”
Mohamed Salah needs to shut down the doubters and get a goal or two for Liverpool v Brentford
Even though Salah is still one of the best players in the Premier League, it seems like fans, pundits, and journalists all have short-term memories.
Ever since joining Liverpool in 2017, Salah has been one of the Reds’ best players and has often been the man they’ve fallen back on if they needed a boost.
The 2025-26 season has unfortunately been the complete opposite of this, as he’s often missed his chances and has hardly created anything for his teammates.
Mohamed Salah in action during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A lot has gone on at Liverpool over the last few months, and these things all likely have a part to play in his poor form.
However, if he starts the game and manages to get a goal contribution or two, he’ll be able to prove the doubters wrong and come out even stronger.