Arne Slot has confirmed Mo Salah will miss his last rivalry at Old Trafford against Manchester United this weekend.
Salah went off injured last weekend against Crystal Palace.
But he’s expected to return for the end of the season and the upcoming World Cup, and Slot today hinted of a big send-off.
Injury updates
The injury crisis continues to grow for Liverpool who will be missing key players such as Alisson Becker and Salah.
Alisson is said to be “very close” to returning to training with Slot, and he will be speaking with medical staff today.
But he doesn’t want to take any risks with him returning too soon.
Other key players still missing are Ekitike, Bradley, Leoni, and Endo.
Slot warned: “If you add Mo to the injury list, it’s getting longer and longer. But that’s been throughout the whole season.”
Facing Carrick’s Manchester United team
Despite the recent three-game winning streak against Palace, Everton and Fulham, Slot is wary of Manchester United’s recent transformation under Michael Carrick.
He said: “Their players are much better than the league position shows.
“Not only because we play Manchester United, but also to qualify for the Champions League and to get the highest possible position in the league table.”
Three points currently keep Liverpool behind Manchester United in the race for a top-three position.
He continued: “And we finally see how good their players are in terms of looking at the league table.
“It might be an advantage that they only play once a week.”
He believes if Liverpool were not playing three times in seven days, they would be able to maximise the players’ potential and become more consistent.
Defending his record
Slot said the club needs to qualify for next season’s Champions League this weekend and want to end up as high as possible.
“It’s what we try week in week out, and what we will try on Sunday as well.”
Slot has come under scrutiny following the decline since winning the league in his first season.
Yet he remains focused on his role, saying: “It’s for you guys to judge, if I have been too harshly judged. It’s not up to me.
“I’m judging my football players if they play good, if they work hard enough, if they execute tactics well enough.”
The £241m Question
For the team to continue maximising their potential, Slot said he would require players to be more available and consistent.
He explained they need to see more chance creation materialise into goals, which he acknowledged the team hasn’t done very well this season.
Two star players, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, who were signed for a total of £241 million last summer, have been centre of attention.
Wirtz’s development under the club was recognised, with Slot highlighting his future potential.
“That’s the beauty of the signings we made last summer.
“All of them are at a certain age where we can only expect them to become better as long as they don’t get injured.”
Slot focused particularly on Isak, who he needed more available at the top level this season.
He added: “One of the players that we thought could score a lot of goals for us has hardly been available.”
It would be beneficial to have players available “once in a while” and that “it’s very extreme at the moment with the amount of players we’re missing”.
Reflecting on Isak’s first goal since returning from injury, he said: “It was a chance, but it wasn’t the biggest chance we got this season, and he finished it off really well.”
Slot also praised midfielder Curtis Jones after his recent starting position as right-back and how well he defended in the Everton derby and against Palace.
He said Jones was “never being afraid to take a risk”.
He explained that the team could be at a much higher level, and despite the recent wins, performance has not been at its best.
Slot said the club is always improving “not only on the pitch, but with the staff too” and are “always keeping their eyes open to improve”.
Liverpool take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday (May 3rd), kick off 3.30pm.
