Arne Slot is confident 'special' Mohamed Salah can help Liverpool return to victory in their Merseyside derby match against Everton on Saturday.
Salah featured again for the Reds in midweek, scoring twice and providing the assist for Curtis Jones' goal in their enthralling 3-3 draw against Newcastle United at St. James' Park.
The Egyptian suggested his brilliant spell at the club could come to an end in the wake of last week's victory over Manchester City, but Slot is confident Salah will keep that in mind ahead of this weekend's encounter.
“It is difficult for me to predict the long-term future. The only thing I can expect or predict is that he is currently in a very good place,” said Slot. “He plays in a very good team that offers him good opportunities and then he is able to do special things.
“What makes him even more special for me is that before we scored the 1-1 you thought: 'He's not playing his best game today', but then with half an hour to come with an assist, two goals and a goal . shot against the crossbar.
“That is also what makes him special, apart from the fact that you only look at the goals. His finishing is so clinical. A special player, but we all know that.
“What struck me from the start, when he came in [in pre-season was] how fit he was, how ready he was to make it a really good season for him. That he set a good example from the first day of preparation. So it's no surprise to me that he's done so well so far.”
King. pic.twitter.com/GvRL91UIfj
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 4, 2024
Everton, meanwhile, secured a crucial win at Goodison Park on Wednesday, beating fellow strugglers Wolves 4-0 to give them some breathing space against the bottom three.
The Toffees piled more pressure on Gary O'Neil with two goals in either half from Ashley Young, Orel Mangala and Craig Dawson who twice turned into his own net to seal the win.
However, manager Sean Dyche called for sobriety from his side after winning the Premier League for the first time since October, with an immediate refocus of priorities ahead of Liverpool's visit.
“It's an important game, they all are,” Dyche said. “I'm not changing my tune just because we won. These are all important games. I think the feeling of the performance was good. I think [it was a] good response from the weekend.
“[Tonight] we didn't make any mistakes and I think we had the real intention and desire to score goals. We mixed our performances and played well.
There are still things we need to work on, but the mentality needs to remain strong here. I have been questioned many times in my life, including here, and so have some players, but the glue that binds us together is very important here. .
“I think the group showed itself again tonight with our performance. There is a glue that binds us together. They showed it tonight with some players coming in, some players coming out and some players coming in.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton -Dwight McNeil
Only McNeil (three goals, three assists) has been involved in more Premier League goals for Everton this season than Ashley Young (one goal, three assists).
In addition, the Toffees midfielder has created 33 chances in the top flight this season, a total surpassed only by Leif Davis (34), Youri Tielemans (35), Cole Palmer (36) and Bukayo Saka (38).
Liverpool-Mohamed Salah
Salah's inspired performance against Newcastle in midweek has now seen him score and assist in 37 Premier League games, the most of any player in history.
He has scored in each of his last seven games, but has never scored in eight straight games. Daniel Sturridge is the only Liverpool player to achieve this feat, achieving the feat in the 2013/2014 season.
The Egyptian has also scored seven Premier League goals against Everton – only Steven Gerrard (nine) has scored more Merseyside derby goals in the competition.
37 – Mohamed Salah has now scored and assisted in more Premier League games than any other player, and tonight marks the 37th time he has done so in his career. Unparalleled. pic.twitter.com/qw7tAYG1fG
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 4, 2024
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
This weekend's action starts with an early kick-off at Goodison Park, and while former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp lamented the match, Liverpool are unbeaten in all eight Premier League games since the start of last season, which start at 12.30pm on Saturday . (W6 D2), including a 2-0 win against Everton.
However, this is Slot's first meeting with Everton as Liverpool manager. Only one Reds boss has won their first ever Merseyside derby when that match was away from home, with Kenny Dalglish overseeing a 3-2 win in September 1985.
Liverpool's 2-0 defeat in the exact same match last season ended a 12-match unbeaten run in the Premier League against Everton (W3 D9). They have not lost consecutive visits to Goodison Park since a run of three between 1992 and 1994.
Everton, meanwhile, have won just four of their 47 Premier League games against teams that started at the top of the table (D9 L34). Only Tottenham (35) have lost more games against top teams in the league than the Toffees.
Dyche has lost twelve Premier League matches against Liverpool (W3 D2), only losing more against Manchester City (14) and Arsenal (13). However, should he win this match, he will have more wins against the Reds (two) than the previous seven Toffees managers combined.
Everton versus Liverpool is also the match that has seen the most red cards (23) and most 0-0 draws (12) in Premier League history. No team has scored more 90th-minute winners against an opponent in the league than Liverpool against Everton (five).
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Everton – 15.5%
Draw – 20.9%
Liverpool – 63.6%
Comments