It’s another familiar problem for Liverpool Football Club who are now set to face four games without their talismanic attacker Mo Salah due to the presence of the African Cup of Nations.
The tournament is set to take place between 13 January – 11 February, which will see the Egyptian King miss the following fixtures:
(A) Bournemouth
(H) Chelsea
(A) Arsenal
(H) Burnley
An extremely demanding set of games to be without Jurgen Klopp’s top goalscorer, though there will be hope that the Reds’ remaining attacking force can help pick up the slack.
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Liverpool can afford no injuries
Having Luis Diaz fit and available will be absolutely integral, if our prior campaign is anything to go by, whilst a continuation of Cody Gakpo’s form (and a return to form for Darwin Nunez) from 2022/23 could likewise shift the tide in our favour.
Diogo Jota could be shunted out to the right wing to accommodate, though we do already possess a ready-made alternative (though by no means a carbon copy) in Harvey Elliott who could offer a viable solution should Klopp require it.
At the very least, we should hopefully have a fit and functioning midfield trio up and running come the January window, which should deliver some significant improvements in performance over the course of the campaign – Mo Salah being present or no.
It’s still a lot to ask of Liverpool to secure maximum points without our pacey wide man, though we should take comfort from the fact that is only our 31-year-old departing for the competition as opposed to the Egyptian and Sadio Mane in recent years.