For the first time throughout his entire reign as Liverpool manager, Arne Slot has named a Premier League starting XI which doesn’t include Mohamed Salah.
The Dutch boss has been under immense pressure after overseeing nine defeats from Liverpool’s last 12 games, the club’s worst run of form in 72 years. Slot batted away suggestions that his job was under threat despite shifting the blame away from his players to take full responsibility for this ruinous sequence of results.
Other onlookers have not been so kind.
Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney was not alone in calling for Salah to be dropped after last weekend’s desperately underwhelming 3–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. The Egyptian forward was retained for Wednesday’s dismal 4–1 Champions League reverse at home to PSV Eindhoven and has now been dropped to the bench for the Sunday’s trip to West Ham United.
Liverpool Starting XI vs. West Ham
(4-2-3-1): Alisson; Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Milos Kerkez; Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch; Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo; Alexander Isak.
Slot Explains Salah Snub
Slot did his best to write off Salah’s absence as nothing more than a question of load management ahead of a busy run of fixtures. “We have more players on the bench than just Mo but I understand why you ask the question. We’re playing four games in 10 days,” he told Sky Sports.
“I have many good players, so today I chose this lineup. Sometimes [Alexander] Isak has been on the bench, sometimes [Florian] Wirtz so I understand why it’s about the players on the bench but it’s also about those that start.
“It’s not an easy decision as I have many more than 11 good players—it’s not the first time I haven’t played Mo, just like I’ve decided not to play Isak, Wirtz and [Hugo] Ekitiké.”
Liverpool’s Upcoming Fixtures
Salah’s 53-Match Streak Ends
Salah was the only Liverpool player to start each of Slot’s first 50 Premier League matches. That faith was largely rewarded last season, as the 33-year-old forward put together one of the most devastating individual campaign’s in the competition’s history, toppling records from the first day of the season to the last as he racked up 29 goals and 18 assists.
This term, Salah is averaging a top-flight goal or assist every 179 minutes (compared to one every 72 minutes last term). To compound that dwindling attacking output, opponents have increasingly targeted his right flank in the knowledge that Slot does not burden his star forward with masses of defensive duties.
Rarely has a recent game gone by without Salah being bypassed in the buildup to an opposition goal; Nottingham Forest twice took advantage of the winger’s slack tracking back last weekend while PSV’s Mauro Junior nonchalantly strolled beyond Salah during the midweek rout.
Florian Wirtz has been called back into the lineup against West Ham in the absence of Salah. For all of the German playmaker’s struggles to carve open opponents, he is still waiting for his first Premier League goal or assist, the 22-year-old covers a prodigious amount of distance each match. Unfortunately, the wispy midfielder has routinely been bullied off the ball when forced into a physical duel.
Ironically enough, West Ham’s London Stadium served as the venue for the last time Salah started a Premier League match as a substitute back in April 2024. During the final weeks of Jürgen Klopp’s tenure, Salah was locked in a heated exchange with his coach on the touchline as he prepared to come on for the final 11 minutes. After the match all he would offer was the telling line: “If I speak today there will be fire.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arne Slot Responds to Dire Liverpool Form With Unprecedented Team Selection vs. West Ham.
