A potentially distracted Liverpool have a tough task on their hands if they’re to return to winning ways in the Champions League this week, as they take on Inter at San Siro on Tuesday night.
The Reds’ 3–3 draw at Leeds United was rendered close to irrelevant by Mohammed Salah’s outburst in the aftermath, during which he told reporters in the mixed zone at Elland Road that his relationship with manager Arne Slot has broken down.
Much of the discourse surrounding the Reds right now is struggling to deviate from Salah’s comments on Saturday, with the Egyptian hardly helping an already difficult situation on Merseyside.
Slot’s side had started their Champions League campaign with three wins from four, but they were beaten 4–1 by PSV Eindhoven last time out and have slipped down to 13th in the league phase table. Only the top eight will qualify automatically for the round of 16.
Last season’s finalists, Inter, are up in fourth with four wins from five, but they were beaten by Atlético Madrid two weeks ago in rather cruel circumstances late on.
Despite the change of manager, the Nerazzurri remain a contender both domestically and on the continent. A 4–0 win over Como on Saturday leaves Cristian Chivu’s side second in Serie A and just a point off holders Napoli at the summit.
Inter were outstanding in their victory over Como on Saturday, and Chivu may be tempted to retain the same starting XI for Liverpool’s visit. However, that’d be a risk, given that the Nerazzurri are playing their fourth game in 10 days on Tuesday night.
If changes are made, we could see Yann Bisseck come into Inter’s defence, summer arrival Petar Sučić start in midfield and Ange-Yoan Bonny partner Lautaro Martínez up top. Inter’s captain, who scored at Anfield during their previous duel with Liverpool, enters the game in tremendous form.
On the injury front, Denzel Dumfries and Matteo Darmian are nursing muscle issues.
Salah’s stunning comments after Saturday’s draw at Elland Road mean much of the prematch focus surrounds the Egyptian, who was left out of Liverpool’s squad entirely for Tuesday’s game.
Salah has been an unused substitute in two of the Reds’ previous three Premier League outings, and only played 45 minutes in the 1–1 draw with Sunderland last week.
If the winger’s absence, Slot will likely retain Dominik Szoboszlai down the right and the Hungarian should be backed up by Conor Bradley from fullback. The Northern Irishman returned from injury at the weekend.
With Bradley back in action, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bajcetic are the Reds’ only absentees.
