Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has unthinkable Mohamed Salah decision to make vs Man City

Former Liverpool players insist Klopp needs to win the Premier League as they face City

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could be forced to bench Mohamed Salah for Sunday’s crunch Premier League tie against Manchester City if he opts to select his team based purely on recent form. The Egyptian’s season has slid downhill in recent weeks while others in the Reds’ ranks have pounced on their opportunities to shine, which could see him watching on from the side-lines. 

Salah has consistently been among the Premier League’s top performers since arriving from Roma in 2017. He broke the record for goals in a single 38-game season in his first campaign at Anfield, and has bagged 20 in 28 league games this term. 

International heartbreaks seem to have taken a toll on his performances since the new year, however. Egypt fell at the final hurdle at the Africa Cup of Nations and in World Cup qualification, both times at the hands of Sadio Mane’s Senegal. 

Salah has not scored for the Reds in almost a month, and not from open play since they dispatched Norwich 3-1 at home in mid-February. Having missed another handful of chances against Benfica in midweek, Klopp acknowledged that his star attacker is enduring a ‘tough’ period. 

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Liverpool and City are currently split by a single point, and there is a very real possibility that the victor on Sunday will go on and win the Premier League title. In other words, Klopp cannot afford to take chances or approach his team selection with an ounce of sympathy. 

Salah’s case is made trickier by the wealth of options at Klopp’s disposal. Luis Diaz has been electric since arriving in January, Diogo Jota has been amongst the goals lately, Mane is still riding high from Senegal’s triumph and Roberto Firmino impressed last time out against Watford. 

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The Reds boss is therefore presented with a decision which, towards the start of the season, would have been absolutely unthinkable. Based on current form there are four attackers in Klopp’s ranks that could reasonably be deemed worthy to start ahead of Salah in Liverpool’s biggest game of the campaign, mere months after he was hailed as the best player on the planet. 

Being dropped for such a crucial encounter is likely to dent the Egyptian’s morale which, strategically speaking, would not be ideal for the club’s attempts to tie him down to a new contract at Anfield. The latest reports indicate that Salah is keen on agreeing a new deal, but nothing is set in stone yet and the process has been far from smooth. 

With just over a year left to run on his existing terms, Barcelona are believed to be sniffing around and waiting to pounce should he decide that it is time for a new challenge. Klopp deciding to bench the 29-year-old could therefore play into their hands, which only adds to the German’s selection conundrum. 

That being said, Klopp does have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from when his team rock up at the Etihad. City boss Pep Guardiola has not been so lucky, with star defender Ruben Dias still out injured which could give the visitors attacking belief once the action gets underway. 

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