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Mohamed Salah will miss Liverpool’s next Premier League game against Leicester City after contracting COVID-19 while on international service with Egypt, and Jurgen Klopp is now tasked with having to find a way to replace his presence in his starting eleven.
The understandable expectation is that Diogo Jota will be the man to put himself in Salah’s shoes given his remarkable start to life in Merseyside, having scored seven goals in his first 11 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The Portuguese forward is versatile and capable of operating on any flank, making his suitability to replace one of Klopp’s absent attackers even stronger, but it is reasonable to suggest that Xherdan Shaqiri has a fair cry for a specific reason.
The Swiss wing player, unlike Jota, prefers to use his left foot in a similar way to Salah, an aspect that has proven to be an integral part of Liverpool’s attacking dynamics in recent years.
Sadio Mane and Salah have been able to score so many goals since moving to Anfield because both are regularly deployed on the opposite flank of their preferred foot; Mane cuts inward from the left using his right, and Salah cuts inward from the right using his left.
The duo are inclined to drive inward toward goal rather than stay close to the touchline and dash toward the corner flag with the ball, and those moves work perfectly once they are paired with Roberto Firmino’s retired moves. shown in the image below.
If Shaqiri were used in Salah’s absence, that left-handed quality from the right of attack would be maintained and Liverpool’s offensive trio would be free to act almost as usual, albeit with some subtle differences.
It remains to be seen if Klopp will use the 4-3-3 amid the club’s injury crisis, but given how well the Reds did against Leicester last season using that form, perhaps the German will want the same? again?
Liverpool recorded a total of 33 shots on goal in the two Premier League games with the Foxes last year, while facing only five on the defensive side of the game.
However, while Shaqiri’s favored foot gives him a slight advantage over Jota, the Portuguese international is incredibly two-legged.
According to a study carried out during the running of the bulls when English football was put on hiatus earlier this year, Jota was the 15th player with more than two feet in England’s top flight, and Liverpool’s next best player is Sadio Mane, who ranked position 47.
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The 23-year-old may not be left-handed by nature, but he is very capable when required to use it and tends to let the situation dictate which foot he chooses.
Ultimately, Jota remains the obvious choice to make up for Salah’s absence, but as a result of his left-handed advantage, the inclusion of Shaqiri shouldn’t be ruled out.
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