There’s little point in wondering what topic will dominate Arne Slot’s pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Mohamed Salah’s absence from last weekend’s starting line-up against West Ham United was always going to cause ruptures. Even more so, given it’s almost a year since Liverpool last visited the London Stadium and the Egyptian maintained his then indomitable form, producing a goal and two assists as the Reds easily secured victory.
Straightforward wins and an on-song Salah have been a rarity this season, however. Now there is a genuine debate over whether one of Liverpool’s all-time greats should be in Slot’s strongest XI. Based on performances this season, few would argue he should.
Anyone who believes Salah should be reintroduced against Sunderland on Wednesday can only point to his outstanding record from across his Liverpool career and feel that surely this freakish downturn must soon end.
Rotation and keeping players fresh could also come into Slot’s consideration. With three Premier League matches in seven days, there’s a strong case that making alterations would be wise, and could open the door for Salah’s return.
Either way, it will be a major topic of discussion on Wednesday night. It is unprecedented. Excluding when injury was a factor, Salah has never started two consecutive Premier League matches on the bench for Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool on the substitutes bench during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium
Salah watched from the bench as Liverpool beat West Ham (Image: 2025 Izzy Poles - AMA)
Try as he might to deflect and downplay, Slot can’t shift the significance of Sunday’s decision to drop the winger. After all, this was the first league game during the Dutchman’s tenure that Salah did not play, and the first time since June 2020 that he was an unused substitute for a Premier League match.
A factor that adds greater gravity to the situation is that this feels like the beginning of the end for a Premier League icon, and perhaps a glimpse into the future for Liverpool.
It has not gone unnoticed that Florian Wirtz thrived without Salah in the team on Sunday, as if Liverpool can only accommodate one free-ranging attacker. It does raise the question of whether the two can perform to their best in the same team.
Is it a coincidence that Wirtz’s best Liverpool showing came when Salah was again omitted?
On that occasion, the ex-Bayern Leverkusen man started on the right flank at Eintracht Frankfurt in October and habitually drifted inside, a role that simply cannot exist with Salah in the team.
Florian Wirtz on the ball
Wirtz impressed in Liverpool's trip to West Ham (Image: Getty Images)
If the choice facing Slot heading into the Sunderland game is whether to play Wirtz or Salah, the answer is simple.
That was underlined at West Ham, when the champions were more organized, compact and clinical.
Even Salah’s greatest acolytes cannot dispute his defensive work rate is negligible – he has managed just three tackles in the Premier League all season – and Dominik Szoboszlai’s inclusion on the right wing meant the team was less easily broken down, and it allowed Wirtz greater freedom to pull the strings from midfield.
There’s also the question of what message Slot would send if after one improved performance he immediately turned back to those who have so dramatically underwhelmed this term.
As Slot returns to the media glare on Tuesday, he does so knowing this is no routine selection dilemma. It is a moment that forces Liverpool to confront an uncomfortable reality: Salah’s place, once unquestioned, is no longer assured. How Slot navigates that will shape the evolution of his entire tenure.