Overview
- Arne Slot declined to confirm whether Mohamed Salah will start against Sunderland after benching him at West Ham, with the forward set to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations on December 15.
- Slot said Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Joe Gomez are not ready for three full 90-minute outings this week, as Sunderland and Leeds bookend a Champions League trip to Inter Milan.
- Liverpool halted their slump with a 2-0 win at West Ham to rise to eighth, executing a more conservative game plan that Joe Gomez described as prioritising a solid defensive foundation.
- Slot started Wirtz against performance-staff advice and called the move a calculated risk that helped re-balance the side after recent heavy criticism.
- Right-back options remain thin with Conor Bradley ruled out for Sunderland and Jeremie Frimpong still unavailable, while Giovanni Leoni is a long-term ACL absentee.