Mohamed Salah missed Liverpool’s win at Crystal Palace but he should be back in for Napoli.
He nearly played, of course. Salah was stripped and ready to come on when Roberto Firmino settled the game on 85 minutes.
That goal gave him the week off, though – and that’s for the better. We said before the game that he shouldn’t play and Jurgen Klopp clearly agreed.
An ankle injury is the problem, having loitered around ever since Salah went off against Leicester City early last month. It’s put Klopp in a very difficult situation.
Liverpool’s crazy fixture list means Salah needs to be match fit. But he also needs rest, what with the ankle injury. Klopp can’t keep leaving him out but he kind of needs to.
And so he’ll have to pick and choose what games his star forward plays.
Napoli is one of the games Salah should play, though. This is a must-win game and one that Liverpool can’t afford to take lightly. If Salah is fit, he should play.
Fortunately, the following match is at home to Brighton. That offers a fantastic opportunity to hand the £34m man the day off, keeping him fresh for the derby midweek.
Salah can’t play every game right now and if Klopp has to pick and choose, Brighton at home is firmly on the ‘can miss’ list.
And with the Napoli game being massive and derby game being the derby, the plan for Salah should be a simple one.
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