Salah shock: Liverpool star left out of squad v PSV
Mohamed Salah is one of several big-name Liverpool players left out of their squad to face PSV on Wednesday, according to David Lynch.
The journalist posted on X (28 January) to report that Salah and eight other regular Reds starters will not travel to Eindhoven as Arne Slot’s side prepare to round off their campaign in the league phase format.
As well as Salah, skipper Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai will all stay at home for the match.
Slot’s side are sitting pretty at the top of the 36-team league table ahead of the eighth and final round of group fixtures, and can only be caught be second-placed Barcelona on goal difference.
Liverpool set to field weakened Champions League side v PSV
While the travelling Reds squad to face PSV in their league phase-concluding match still features plenty of quality in the form of Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Andy Robertson and others, Salah will be a big miss.
The Egyptian racked up his 50th European goal for the Reds with his opener against Lille last time out, setting them on course to a seventh-straight league phase victory to maintain their 100 per cent record.
Salah’s future remains up in the air with a new contract still unsigned on Merseyside, but it’s clear that as speculation over his number 11 grows, Slot is keen to manage the 32-year-old’s minutes.
Liverpool have long since secured their progression straight to the Round of 16 as the only side with a 100 per cent record in UEFA’s new league phase format, and will be keen to maintain that against PSV.
However, sending a much-weaked team out to face the Dutch champions – whose have a side packed with quality and a record of producing stars such as Gakpo – does put them at risk of dropping points.
With no Salah in the side, that’s certainly the case, but Slot will hope that his talisman’s best performances on the continent this season are still to come.
In other Liverpool news, an Anfield-bound player has already been told to quit his current club by their furious fanbase.
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