“He would want to be at his best” – Alex McLeish claims Manchester City clash could trigger ‘massively dangerous’ side of Liverpool star
Former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has said that Liverpool's Mohamed Salah could reignite his form in the Reds' tantalising Premier League clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
The Premier League title rivals will do battle at the Etihad Stadium with just a point separating the two sides at the league summit. With eight games remaining, Manchester City sit atop the league, with the Reds just a point behind.
Salah has somewhat fallen out of form at Liverpool recently. Having endured a demoralising exit from FIFA World Cup qualification with Egypt a week ago, he has not hit the heights he reached earlier this year.
That has coincided with speculation over the player's future at Anfield, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Egyptian star rejected an offer at the end of last year.
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McLeish believes the contract saga hasn't been a distraction for the forward, telling Football Insider:
"I mean, it hasn’t really distracted him despite this being a subject for a whole year. I think there are moments when players haven’t scored for a couple of games, then they come back again."
McLeish is banking on Salah returning to his usual world-class best on Sunday. The Scot continued:
“Sometimes it takes a big game like this to get them back into their massively dangerous predatorial instincts. I don’t think that it would be a distraction for him. He seems a very mentally strong character, Salah. I imagine he would want to be at his best, regardless of the talks and where his future might be.”
Liverpool fans will hope Salah returns to the form that has seen him lead the goalscoring charts with 20 goals in 28 Premier League games.
Will Liverpool's frontline be too hot for Manchester City to handle?
The Reds are regarded by many as the Premier League's most impressive attacking team.
They boast many options, having added Luis Diaz to an already glittering array of attacking personnel at manager Jurgen Klopp's disposal.
The German manager's preferred front three currently is Salah, Diaz and Sadio Mane, and all three have flourished together.
The trio have scored 11 goals since Diaz arrived at the club earlier this year.
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Jurgen Klopp on Luís Diaz: “He’s a top player. He’s a top, top world level player. It’s a joy for me to work with Luís every day, and I’m more than happy that we decided to sign him in January”. 🔴🇨🇴 #LFC
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Salah's potency alongside Mane's energy and Diaz's trickery has struck fear in defenders throughout their time together. However, Manchester City have a formidable backline.
While Klopp's men boast the best goal record this Premier League season with 77 goals scored, Guardiola's have the best defence.
Manchester City have conceded just 18 goals this season, two less than the Reds, which makes them the best defensive team in the Premier League.
However, one of Guardiola's stalwarts that won't be part of Sunday's clash is Ruben Dias, who is facing weeks on the sidelines because of a hamstring injury.
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Nevertheless, Manchester City are still incredibly stronf in defence, with the likes of John Stones, Joan Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte being rocks at the back.
Sunday's game promises to be a blockbuster as the two Premier League heavyweights do battle. The outcome of this game could well define this season's league title race.