Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo have been criticised by former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday

Paul Merson has highlighted a concerning ‘pressing’ problem in Mohamed Salah’s game ahead of Liverpool’s crucial Premier League clash against Chelsea on Saturday.

Salah, 30, hasn’t been at his best this season, having scored just seven times in 18 top-flight matches. There has been a greater expectation on the Egyptian following Sadio Mane’s departure and injuries to all of his fellow forwards – bar new signing Cody Gakpo.

But while Salah’s contribution in front of goal has been below-par, Merson feels it is his off-the-ball work that is providing the biggest issue ahead of the showdown with Chelsea. The pundit told Sportskeeda : “Ninth place against tenth place – is this a big game? I’ll go as far as to say that whoever loses this match is completely out of the Premier League top-four race.

“This is a massive game. The team that wins this game could go on a run and really push for a place in the top four. Liverpool got blown away by Brighton the other day. I did mention that there was no way Brighton were going to lose that game, and they deserved to win.

“The Liverpool players who played against Wolves aren’t going to play on Saturday. Mohamed Salah isn’t closing down like he used to. They need to go back to closing down and winning the ball high up the pitch – they’re not doing that at all at the moment.”

Liverpool head into the game against Chelsea needing three points to close the gap on the chasing pack to the Champions League places. The Reds currently sit 10 points behind fourth-place Newcastle in the table.

“This is going to be an interesting game. Chelsea have got injuries and aren’t playing great football, but if they can get through the first 20 minutes, they’ve got a chance,” Merson added.

The former Arsenal midfielder also delivered his opinion of Gakpo’s start to life at Anfield following his £45m switch from PSV earlier this month. Gakpo has failed to score in three appearances since his move from the Erevidisie and struggled from the start in the Reds’ 1-0 win over Wolves on Tuesday.

“Cody Gakpo’s been struggling a bit so far – I can’t remember players for Holland coming in and ripping it up in the Premier League in the last couple of years. He’ll need time, and he might need to come out of the team for a game or two.

“Liverpool have got to hang in there and win matches until the likes of Jota and Diaz are back. They need to get their confidence back up and get on a roll. There’s not a lot between these two teams, and I think this game will end in a draw.”