Four Liverpool changes Arne Slot could be about to make including major Mohamed Salah decision

Arne Slot made just one change as Liverpool took on Sunderland in the Premier League on Wednesday. Having won more convincingly than has been normal of late against West Ham, it made sense.

Milos Kerkez limped off with cramp at the London Stadium, so Andy Robertson came in. Aside from that, though, Liverpool went again with the same starting team — at least until half-time.

A drab opening 45 minutes saw the scoreline level at 0-0, with Mohamed Salah sent out to warm up. He replaced Cody Gakpo, who Slot said was ineffective, but nothing much changed after the break.

While it wasn't quite back to square one for Liverpool — its win over a terrible West Ham remains a step in the right direction — it was a frustrating result.

One positive was that the Reds didn't fall apart after going a goal down — far from a given of late — but the only other was that Florian Wirtz performed well, forcing the equalizer, even if he didn't get the credit for the goal.

So what, then, does Arne Slot do against Leeds United on Saturday? With the short turnaround between games and that being the third of the week, changes are likely.

Salah hasn't started the last two games and he didn't make a huge impact when he entered the field on Wednesday. Still, though, it would make sense for him to come back in.

While this isn't the same Salah as the one that has faced Leeds before, he has scored nine goals and picked up one assist in his six appearances against the Yorkshire side to date.

It isn't a given that he will be in the starting XI, but sooner rather than later, Slot needs to find a way of pairing him and Wirtz together. The only way that happens is by fielding them at the same time.

Elsewhere, it feels unlikely that Joe Gomez will be able to go again after back-to-back starts. He was booked and looked jaded in the minutes leading up to his substitution against Sunderland, with errors starting to creep into his game.

Conor Bradley potentially could be back in contention to play right-back after injury — for an hour, say, with Gomez coming on — while Kerkez should be fine to be restored on the opposite flank.

To get Salah back into the starting XI, Liverpool could play Wirtz on the left and Dominik Szoboszlai through the center. The Hungarian's energy, under the lights at Elland Road, will be vital.

Finally, up top, Alexander Isak has started two games in a row — scoring against West Ham, but anonymous against Sunderland. Hugo Ekitike, though he hasn't scored since October 22, seems a likely bet to come in.

At this point of the poor run of results, Slot has tried most formulas and his line-up alterations haven't always paid off. Against Leeds, though, getting a win and making it seven points from nine would be a respectable total to put Liverpool in a decent position again.

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