Paul Merson thinks £34m Liverpool player is about to be benched vs Brentford tomorrow

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Liverpool head to Brentford tomorrow with the chance to go five points clear in the Premier League.

Playing as the first game of the weekend, the Reds can put the pressure on their title rivals. To do so though, they’re going to have to win at a stadium they’ve never tasted victory at before.

In the build up to the game, Liverpool have been boosted by the return to fitness of Mohamed Salah. After missing eight games through international duty and injury, Mo is back.

But writing for Sportskeeda, former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson says that he’d be surprised to see the £34m man start on Saturday.

“Mohamed Salah is back in training, but I can’t see Liverpool rushing him back into the XI, especially with the Carabao Cup final on the horizon,” Merson explains.

“The other forwards have been productive in his absence, so there’s no need for Klopp to gamble with Salah’s fitness.”

Salah set for easing in

This will be a little bit of a balancing act for Klopp tomorrow. As we know, Salah has been back in training for most of the week and as a result should be ready to play.

Given what we know about the Egyptian’s character, you can bet that if he’s asked, he’ll say he’s feeling fine to play the full 90 minutes.

But Liverpool have been guilty of rushing players back from injury too quickly in recent weeks.

All three of Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold have returned to play only to suffer a setback almost immediately. They can’t afford to do the same with Salah.

As Merson says, the Carabao Cup final is something to consider in this respect. Without Alexander-Arnold and probably Szoboszlai and Thiago too, Liverpool don’t need Salah out as well.

More than that though, it could really affect their title push at exactly the wrong time. The Reds have a huge clash with Manchester City coming up in early March, they need everyone ready for that.

Another good point from Merson is that Liverpool’s forwards have really stepped up in Salah’s absence lately.

In the eight games he’s missed, Diogo Jota has scored five, with Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz weighing in with four apiece. They always need Mo, but the Reds are well stocked anyway.

Just because he doesn’t start doesn’t mean Salah won’t have an impact, though. If he’s on the bench he’ll surely come on anyway. Out of action for Liverpool since New Year’s Day, it’ll be great to see him again.