Liverpool will return to Premier League action this weekend after securing an important win in the Champions League against Inter.
The Reds will host Brighton and Hove Albion tomorrow afternoon at Anfield, and nothing short of three points will be acceptable after a difficult start to the season for Arne Slot and his squad.
The current Premier League champions have fallen drastically from grace in their domestic efforts, dropping to tenth in the table and sitting ten points behind league leaders Arsenal, while also crashing out early in the Carabao Cup.
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To add insult to injury, an explosive interview from Mohamed Salah has caused widespread discourse in the football world, with the club legend claiming he has no relationship with the manager and that he feels “someone wants him out”.
Luckily, Liverpool did not allow this ongoing fallout to affect their Champions League clash with Inter at the San Siro, putting in a resilient display to earn a 1-0 victory away from home.
The Merseyside giants were without Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa on their trip to Italy, presenting a valuable opportunity for new signings Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak to combine in attack.
Despite failing to score, the pair showed signs of improvement in Liverpool’s attacking threat, which was supported by Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones operating behind them in midfield.
It was hoped that the duo would feature again to further strengthen their partnership, however, Slot has revealed that this may not be possible following another blow to Liverpool’s attacking options.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference this morning, the Dutch coach said:
“What we all saw was more play together, more adapting and cooperation. It’s fair to say the other two on the pitch, the two number nines, were more used to playing with each other. There were promising things.
It was the second time they played together for obvious reasons. We will see more of this. Alex got a knock in the first half, so let’s see how he has recovered from that.”
Will Mo Salah return for Liverpool?
With Isak potentially unavailable for selection against Brighton and Cody Gakpo sidelined through injury, could this prompt a reconciliation between the manager and his superstar winger?
Salah has now failed to start in four consecutive matches, and following the third omission, he took to the media to vent his frustrations towards the club and management.
His outburst has divided the fanbase and wider football community over recent days, with some sympathising with Salah’s situation, while others believe his comments were self-serving and further fuelled unrest at Liverpool.
Either way, Slot faces a dilemma both on and off the pitch if he is unable to deploy Ekitike and Isak together at Anfield on Saturday.
The Liverpool boss confirmed that a meeting would be held with the Egyptian forward today to determine whether he will be involved in the fixture, with the outcome likely to have a significant impact on the attacking set-up.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see whether Salah returns to the squad tomorrow and if he can make a positive contribution before heading off to AFCON next week.
Rebekka Arnold
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Rebekka Arnold is an experienced writer with a strong background in digital media, PR and football journalism. Since 2021, Rebekka has written opinion pieces and match reaction content for Football Fancast, part of the Snack Media network, building on her growing presence in the football community through viral Twitter content and podcasting. Now at Transfer Tavern, Rebekka brings her sharp eye for analysis and deep passion for the game to deliver engaging football opinion and breaking transfer news content.
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