Jamie Carragher makes tongue-in-cheek Mohamed Salah prediction ahead of Liverpool return

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher feels Arne Slot has gone too defensive recently, has made a tongue-in-cheek prediction about Mohamed Salah's expected return to the club

Jamie Carragher feels Arne Slot has gone too defensive at Liverpool(Image: Sky Sports News)

Jamie Carragher made a tongue-in-cheek prediction for Mohamed Salah’s return to Liverpool this week amid the pair’s well-documented feud.

Salah is due back with the Reds ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game against Marseille following his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations, in which he missed out on a first continental title with Egypt after defeat to Sadio Mane’s Senegal in the semi-finals.

All eyes will be on the 33-year-old, with his future at Anfield still up in the air after his extraordinary outburst last month, which saw him accuse the club of throwing him “under the bus” after being named on the bench for three consecutive games.

He has been backed to earn a place back in Arne Slot’s starting line-up though, with Liverpool still struggling to pick up wins, despite currently being on a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

The Reds were booed by some supporters following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Burnley - their fourth straight stalemate in the Premier League - with Slot finding himself defending his side against accusations of boring performances.

Carragher doesn’t feel the weekend’s draw falls into that category, although he does believe Slot has gone too far in making his side more defensive after a poor start to the season.

“The concerning thing over this run is Liverpool are playing with the handbrake on,” Carragher told Sky Sports News.

Mohamed Salah has been backed to earn a place back in Arne Slot's side upon his return from AFCON(Image: Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images)

“Now, I don’t think that was the case at the weekend, I think Liverpool played really well, and sometimes you have to accept you don’t get the result that you really deserve, which Liverpool did.

“I don’t think this game in isolation reflects what we’ve seen over the last couple of months. But the dilemma for every manager, in every team in every league, no matter where you’re playing, is balance between attack and defense.

“Now, the balance wasn’t right at the start of the season, it felt too much in the attacking sense, and Liverpool were leaving themselves open at the back. End-to-end games, lots of goals.

“So Arne Slot has stopped that. He’s stopped the defeats, right, but the balance has almost gone too far one way now, where that energy and pace in the team isn’t there, so it’s a lot slower, the football is a bit pragmatic if you like.

“But he’s done that to stop the end-to-end games, to try and make the team stronger defensively. Now he’s almost got to move this needle a little bit more attacking, and listen, if it was easy, every manager could do it, but that’s the conundrum for everybody, getting the balance between attack and defense, and he hasn’t been able to get that right all season.

“It was too far one way at the start of the season, now it’s maybe too far the other way.”

Just before he ended his analysis though, Carragher joked about Salah’s return, no doubt with his ongoing feud with the forward fresh in his memory. “Maybe Mo Salah will change it when he’s back!” he said, drawing laughter from both him and the host.