Liverpool are gearing up to face Aston Villa on Saturday in a game which could already be make-or-break for their season.
Arne Slot’s men have suffered six defeats in their last seven games, with players such as Mohamed Salah performing well below their usual level.
Because of this, many questions have been asked about whether the Egyptian King is still good enough to be the Reds’ star man after his slow start to the campaign.
And now, despite his recent poor run of form, Paul Merson has shared why he thinks Liverpool should be starting Salah in their game against the Villans.
Paul Merson says Liverpool can’t leave Mohamed Salah out of their game vs Aston Villa
As mentioned, Salah hasn’t been his usual self for Liverpool this term.
The attacker has hardly contributed to any goals by his usual standards, and at the moment, it’s unclear whether last season’s version of Salah will ever come back.
During Wednesday’s defeat against Crystal Palace, the Egyptian King was left out of the squad entirely so that he could be given some decent rest.
However, now that he’s well-rested and ready to go, Merson thinks there’s no way that the Reds can leave him out again, especially with how badly they need to win this game.
“Villa have nothing to lose here. Even if they lose this game, it’s not a big problem. That freedom will give them an advantage. Both teams are also now on the same number of points, which is crazy considering how Villa had that tough start to the season,” he wrote on Sportskeeda.
“Just shows how quickly things can change. The only problem with Villa is that they haven’t been scoring enough goals.
“I know they have let in just eight goals in the Premier League, but they have scored only nine in nine games! Liverpool have let in so many goals in recent weeks, but can Villa take advantage of the Reds’ shaky defence?
“Another big question is whether or not Mohamed Salah starts this game for Liverpool. I think he does. If you want chances falling to players in games like these, Salah is still certainly one of them. I know he hasn’t been scoring goals, but they can’t leave him out of this game.
“Liverpool should forget about the Real Madrid game next week. If they lose that one, they can still qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.
“But defeat to Aston Villa could be the end of their hopes of retaining the Premier League title.
“That would put them 10 points behind Arsenal with a game against Manchester City coming up. Not the best situation, and I worry for Liverpool because I don’t see them beating Villa this weekend.
“Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa.”
Mohamed Salah needs to get back to his best for Liverpool before it’s too late
Blips are, of course, expected to occur from time to time within every team.
However, the fact that almost all of Liverpool’s first-team squad are a shadow of their former selves at the moment is massively concerning.
Even though the Anfield outfit won all five of their opening Premier League games, they still weren’t playing well, and, eventually, their weaknesses were exposed.
It’s also going to take time for all of Liverpool’s new players to gel together, especially since so many talented players chose to make the move to Merseyside in the summer.
However, if Salah doesn’t get back to his best soon, then it could be the end of any title hopes Liverpool and their fans may still have had.
So far, Slot has tried several different ways to turn things in the Reds’ favour, but nothing has worked.
Time is running out for a difference to be made, and soon, they’ll end up dropping out of the title race before Christmas even comes around.
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