Liverpool's Slot backs Salah to end PL drought

Arne Slot has backed Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to rediscover his goalscoring form, insisting "he always scores in the end."

Salah hasn't scored in the Premier League since the 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in early November. His current nine-game drought is his longest spell without a top flight goal since he joined the club from AS Roma in 2017, however Slot is confident the Egypt international can get back to his best.

"He set his own standards and those are so, so, so high and the moment he doesn't score for a few games people are immediately surprised --- that is the biggest compliment he can get," Slot said.

"With data you can use it to your advantage or disadvantage but not to use the FA Cup game -- if we play a Premier League side -- you could argue if that is fair. But that's the way it works: if we want to highlight something really positive we try to forget one or two games and if we want to highlight something negative we can try to forget one or two games as well.

"Three games ago he had an assist and a goal against a very good Premier League team Brighton, so that is the reality, and then you can change data and say he did not score in nine Premier League games. That is the standard he sets for himself and that is why people are surprised when things like that happen.

"We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals and at this moment in time that is maybe the biggest difference in his performance and game time. But we also know this has happened before, I don't know if it happened nine games in a row but I've had these questions earlier if didn't score for three or five but I know in the end he always starts scoring again. That is the challenge he has and we have now to make sure he starts scoring again.

"He is not our only attacker at this moment in time that doesn't score as much as we are used to. The focus is totally on him because of everything he did for the club but Hugo [Ekitike] and Cody [Gakpo] haven't scored that many goals recently as well. It is a team thing which we have to improve. The good thing is we keep clean sheets so they don't need to score as many, although against Qarabag we scored six and scored four against Newcastle."

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Slot also confirmed that defender Jeremie Frimpong could feature in Liverpool's clash with West Ham United on Saturday following his recovery from a hamstring injury, although midfielder Florian Wirtz continues to be sidelined with a back problem.

"I don't expect Florian to be available, so that is a disappointment, of course," Slot said. "Every time when a player is not available is a disappointment and also something I didn't expect after last week, but sometimes that is how things can evolve, and this time not in a positive way.

Asked if he can put a timeframe on Wirtz's return, Slot added: "No, at this moment of time. Usually, when I say that I do know that but don't want to share that, but now I honestly don't know.

"It is 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 and the Premier League. That he stays fit all the time tells you a lot about the mentality and the work rate of the player, and the performance staff, but this week and last week he is not available and that's a disappointment for him and us because he played really well lately."