Newcastle United has secret weapon that can help contain Mohamed Salah threat

7 hours ago 3

Liverpool has spent the summer bolstering what was already a title-winning squad. Despite the departures of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, the arrivals of Florian Wirtz, Huge Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have only enhanced Arne Slot's team.

But even with all the fresh talent that the Dutchman will have at his disposal when he leads his team to St James' Park for Monday night's Premier League match against Newcastle United, it's an old hand who is likely to pose the greatest threat.

Mohamed Salah is embarking on his ninth season in Liverpool red, and there seems to be no sign of his influence diminishing.

The Egyptian found the back of the net in their opening-weekend 4-2 victory over Bournemouth, bringing his total to 246 goals in all competitions since joining Anfield.

Newcastle is well aware of his capabilities. Despite a stellar performance in the 3-3 draw at St James' in the same fixture last season, United's dominance was undone by 15 minutes of magic from the 33-year-old.

Liverpool has players throughout its team who can win matches, but the consensus remains that if you can silence Salah, the rest of the team will be subdued.

In this regard, Newcastle already has an ace up its sleeve. United went to Wembley for March's Carabao Cup final as underdogs but famously emerged as 2-1 victors on a day when everyone in black-and-white rose to the occasion.

Salah Livramento

Tino Livramento kept Salah quiet in the Carabao Cup final

Tino Livramento, the England full-back, has perhaps been impacted the most. He's been playing out of position at left-back since Lewis Hall's season was cut short last February.

Yet, he demonstrated at Wembley that he can do what many others have attempted and failed - keeping Salah quiet for a full 90 minutes.

Moreover, he posed an offensive threat, assisting in setting up the pivotal second goal for Alexander Isak.

Naturally, this doesn't mean he'll effortlessly neutralise Salah's threat on Monday night. The 22-year-old is well aware of the monumental task ahead of him, but should rightly draw confidence from that triumphant afternoon in London five months ago.

Hall is nearing a first-team comeback after several pre-season appearances and a full 90 minutes for Newcastle's Under-21s last weekend.

Match fitness remains a concern and at this point in the season, it wouldn't be surprising to see Howe persist with Livramento at left-back and the seasoned Kieran Trippier on the right.

While Hall will eventually reclaim his spot, Howe needn't worry about Tino on Monday.

In fact, it might be Salah who has the most to ponder.

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