Liverpool have been on a poor bout of form: losing two and drawing one of their last four. Despite winning Thursday night’s game against Atalanta, the Reds lost 3-1 on aggregate: performances and results need to pick up fast. These are the three players that need to improve when they play Fulham on April 21.
Three Liverpool Players That Need to Be on Best Form to Beat Fulham
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Mohamed Salah
Since returning from injury in early March, Mohamed Salah has struggled to make a great impact. He has scored just one goal from open play in five Premier League games and has failed to assist his teammates. Aside from his limited output, he has looked relatively unthreatening.
The Egyptian has often failed to take his chances: despite scoring against Brighton, he had 11 unsuccessful shots that totalled an expected goal tally of over 1.
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In the midweek Europa League fixture, despite scoring a penalty, Salah’s poor form continued. He had a great chance on the fast break but decided to try and lob the goalkeeper from 35 yards and missed by some distance.
As a playmaker the 31-year-old struggled too, creating zero chances before being substituted in the 66th minute.
Liverpool will need a clinical finisher to beat Fulham: Bernd Leno will not make life easy for attackers. With Darwin Nunez arguably just as unreliable in recent times, Salah will need to be on his best form to put Jurgen Klopp’s side’s trajectory back on track for the title.
Wataru Endo
Wataru Endo has been very impressive this season, despite the 29-year-old not massively exciting fans when he joined in the summer as their only defensive midfielder.
However, in the three recent disappointing team performances (against Manchester United, Atalanta, and Crystal Palace), the Japanese played a part. Of course, not all blame is to be placed upon him.
His performance against the Red Devils was his best, but Liverpool sometimes looked overrun by United. Endo really struggled against Atalanta (first leg) both on the ball and off it: he could not deal with their quick transitions and made a bad error in possession leading to a good chance.
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His most recent game, against Crystal Palace, was his worst. Liverpool’s number three looked overran, again in transition, and this can be seen for the only goal when the assist from Tyrick Mitchell slipped through his legs. On the ball, he lost possession many times due to sloppiness.
However, the reason for these poor performances seems clear: tiredness. Endo starts almost every game when fit, and has struggled with a couple of injuries this season too. He simply looks tired and void of energy: that rest against Atalanta will do him all the good in the world.
Playing against a Fulham team with impressive midfielders like Joao Palhinha, Liverpool’s match will be determined in the center of the park. We do not doubt that Endo will play a big part if the team bounces back on Sunday.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Dominik Szoboszlai started the season exceptionally, with many lauding him as the “signing of the season”.
However, the Hungarian has been underwhelming in recent months but hasn’t received much criticism as Liverpool have remained at the top of the Premier League.
In recent weeks, the side has struggled for creativity and fluidity in attack – not scoring in open-play for 337 minutes. This has led to more scrutiny.
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Both Szoboszlai and Jones were fairly mediocre midweek and didn’t bring the attacking energy and drive that Klopp surely expected when he started the duo. We think the latter was more disappointing but don’t expect him to start against Fulham.
The former Leipzig player also made two big errors over the tie, gifting Atalanta their third in the first leg and a chance in the second leg that the home team failed to capitalise on due to an offside.
Despite his recent frustrating form, we know that the star with a “lack of conviction” can propel Liverpool to a dominant attacking display when he’s on his game.
A good performance against Fulham is exactly what the Merseyside outfit needs to claim three points and get right back into the title race.
