Liverpool vs West Ham: Wirtz Ruled Out as Slot Defends Salah

Arne Slot dropped a massive injury update at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s EPL match with West Ham tomorrow, Saturday, February 28th. He also addressed the Reds' struggles against the bottom of the table and the development of Rio Ngumoha (along with Salah’s struggles) while meeting with journalists.

Team News

It was a mixed bag for the Reds concerning availability. Jeremie Frimpong has been fully involved in training and is expected to play vs. the Hammers, while what was expected to be a minor knock to Florian Wirtz has worsened, and he has been ruled out.

“I don’t expect Florian to be available, so that’s a disappointment,” Slot said “Of course, every time a player is not available, it’s a disappointment, and it’s also something I didn’t expect after last week, but that’s sometimes how things can evolve and unfortunately, this time not in a positive way. “It’s definitely a shame. He has rhythm, of course, and in my opinion it’s already a big accomplishment of him that he stayed fit for such a long time because he had to make a step from where he played towards Liverpool, towards the Premier League, and that he stayed fit tells you lot about the mentality and work-rate of a player, and the performance staff.”

Struggles Vs.The Bottom

Slot admitted that Liverpool have struggled against teams at the bottom of the table, pointing to a scoreless draw to Leeds and even the most recent win vs.Forest as an example.

"I cannot manipulate the fact that we have struggled a lot against the teams who were promoted or near the bottom,” he said. “We understand how difficult winning games in general is; it doesn't matter where they are in the table. It’s not just Liverpool, I watch a lot of games, teams at the top are now struggling with teams at or near the bottom of the table. That’s because even those teams have wealthy owners, and there is so much money flowing through the league. It’s not like it used to be, where there was a clear divide between the top and the bottom. Now each game is a challenge regardless of the position on the table.”

Ngumoha’s Rise, Salah’s Fall?

Slot discussed Rio Ngumoha’s rapid rise, hinting that the youngster could soon see more EPL minutes, and he also admitted that Salah is in a scoring drought, but added that criticism of Salah may be a bit harsh.

"He sets his own standards, and they were so, so high. When he doesn't score for a few games, it means people are surprised. We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals, but we also know this has happened before, and in the end soon, he always starts scoring again. You can manipulate the data to say he has not scored in the league in so many games, but then you don’t talk about his goal and his really strong performance vs Brighton (FA Cup), who is in the Premier League. Sometimes data is helpful, other times you can manipulate it to say what you want. The same with Rio. You say he doesn’t have many minutes in the league, but you don’t mention the fact that his minutes have been steadily going up in other competitions. He continues to develop and become a better player. As long as he stays healthy, he will see more minutes in the coming days.” 

LFC Globe Verdict

Did Arne Slot just drop a big hint that Rio Ngumoha could get his first EPL start vs. the Hammers? Our predicted Starting XI will be dropping, so check it out to see our thoughts. The boss was also a bit salty toward the media, chiding them for manipulating statistics to fit a certain narrative concerning Salah or the team as a whole.

The pundits have already put pressure on Slot after poor performances. That pressure will only increase if he does not produce a win vs. West Ham. I’m not sure firing back at pundits was the wisest move by the boss. 

Do you agree? Let us know below.

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