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 ANGRY ARNE SLOT WILL WANT TO DROP MOHAMED SALAH BUT LIVERPOOL FANS WON'T EXPECT IT'

An "angry" Arne Slot will feel disrespected by Mohamed Salah, says former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch believes an "angry" Arne Slot will feel disrespected by Mohamed Salah's social media post - but claimed the Liverpool boss won't drop the Egypt superstar against Brentford.

Salah is expected to feature in what will be his 442nd and final appearance as a Reds player when Keith Andrews's Bees visit in the last match of the Premier League campaign on Sunday afternoon.

Slot's side need to avoid defeat to secure Champions League football next term but question marks have arisen over Salah's involvement following a social media outburst last week, which occurred in the wake of the 4-2 loss at Aston Villa.

“I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies," Salah wrote on his social media accounts in a statement that was widely interpreted as another public criticism of Slot.

Crouch, who won the FA Cup with the Reds 20 years ago, thinks Slot will privately have been furious with the statement but the former England striker says it would be an enormous decision from the boss to punish Salah for the comments on what is expected to be an emotional afternoon at Anfield.

“If I’m Arne Slot, I’d have a serious word with him," Crouch told Paddy Power. "I don’t know if I could start him. I’d be angry at the comments for sure. With regards to Mo Salah, he carries more weight [at the club] even though Slot won a Premier League in his first season.

“This is where we talk about player power. The fans and probably everyone around the club are expecting Mo Salah to start in his last game. It would be a massive call if he didn’t start. Maybe something that’s more political than tactical.

“Deep down Arne Slot will feel disrespected by Mo Salah’s comments and want to drop him. Unfortunately, this is where the conversation comes in where people debate whether the player is bigger than the manager at the time."

Crouch added: “In this case, it would be just to say Mo Salah would definitely have more backing than Arne Slot at the moment.

"A player of immense calibre around the place. He’s right up there with Gerrard, Souness, Hansen, and Dalglish. To drop him for the last game would be an unbelievably big call.”