Inter host a Liverpool team in turmoil after star Mohamed Salah said he was being scapegoated by the football club for its poor form.
Who: Inter Milan vs Liverpool
What: UEFA Champions League – League phase, match day 6
Where: San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy
When: Tuesday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on media Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
In-form Inter Milan host struggling Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on Tuesday with the Reds underwhelming defence of their Premier League crown turning from bad to worse with superstar player Mohamed Salah hinting at an exit from the club.
Liverpool currently sits ninth on the domestic league ladder – 10 points behind leaders Arsenal – and their morale was weakened further when Salah accused the club of “throwing him under the bus” in comments made to the media after a 3-3 draw at lowly Leeds United on the weekend.
Inter have recovered from a slow start to the Serie A football season – where they lost two of their first three fixtures – to storm back into title contention. The Nerazzurri now sit second on the table – just a point behind reigning champions Napoli after 14 rounds.
For Inter coach Cristian Chivu, a win against Liverpool at the San Siro could secure direct qualification for the Italian mega club in the last-16 of the Champions League.
After five of the eight match days so far, Inter sits fourth on the ladder with a record of four wins and one loss. They were undefeated in the competition until a tough 2-1 loss in their last fixture at Atletico Madrid on November 26.
Liverpool is currently 13th with three wins and two losses, and is situated outside the top-eight placing required for automatic qualification into the next phase of the tournament. The Reds defeated 15-time UCL champions Real Madrid 1-0 on November 4 – but were then humiliated 4-1 at Anfield by Dutch side PSV in their last match on November 26.
It is unclear at this stage if Salah will be included in the Liverpool squad for the Reds’ trip to Inter Milan.
Salah trained with the club at the AXA Training Centre in Liverpool on Monday ahead of their flight to Italy, but it remains to be seen whether manager Arne Slot chooses to leave him out of the squad. He did not speak to the media.
On Saturday, the 33-year-old said he had been “thrown under the bus” as he tore into the club over his treatment and signalled a potential exit, after watching from the bench for the third straight match in the draw at Leeds.
In his incendiary post-match comments, the Egyptian international lashed out at the club and coach Slot, telling journalists he felt he had been scapegoated for their poor start to the season and suggesting that he may not have long left at Anfield.
“I’m very, very disappointed, to be fair. I have done so much for this club. Everybody can see that during the years, and especially last season,” Salah told reporters in the post-match mixed zone, before taking aim at the club’s leadership.
“I don’t know, it seems like the club is throwing me under the bus. That’s how I felt it, how I feel it.
“I think it’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me in the summer … a lot of promises and nothing so far.”
Salah, who is going to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Egypt on December 15, added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen now, so I’m just going to be in Anfield, say goodbye to the fans [before] going to Africa Cup, because I don’t know what’s going to happen when I’m there.”
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