Sturridge and Shaqiri deserve to supplant Firmino and Salah
By David Gate
Liverpool have not yet found their rhythm in attack this season but Daniel Sturridge & Xherdan Shaqiri could replace Roberto Firmino & Mohamed Salah to bring a spark.
Liverpool are heading into two huge games; Napoli away in the Champions League and Man City at home in the Premier League. Ask any Red a few weeks ago and it will be nailed on that they would want Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah to start both those games.
As unthinkable as it seemed just a month ago Jurgen Klopp could be considering a mini-shake-up of his attacking trio.
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Mohamed Salah has come under the most criticism as he has missed a string of great chances over the last few games. The manager insists there are no physical issues for the Egyptian – and he is getting into great scoring positions – but his finishing seems snatched and hurried.
The reality is not that terrible. Salah has two goals and a couple of assists and is perhaps suffering from the unreal expectations set by last season’s prolific rate. Firmino scored three match winners in a row. Mane has four goals in seven Premier League games. Nothing to fret about.
The common logic is that it will click eventually and this is perhaps a minor hangover from a long run to the Champions League followed by a World Cup for those players. However two Liverpool players are making a strong case to supplant two of their teammates, at least for the Napoli game.
Daniel Sturridge is joint top scorer this year with four goals in approximately 180 minutes of action. That is an average of two goals a game. Three of those strikes were against Chelsea (2) and PSG. Hardly poor opponents.
Xherdan Shaqiri has been a livewire whenever he has seen the field. He has been a spark of energy and creativity whenever the side has looked stale.
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With a top-of-the-table clash with Man City approaching at the weekend we could see Klopp rest Firmino and Salah and give Shaqiri and Sturridge the opportunity against Napoli to prove they are worthy of first team consideration.