Paul Merson has suggested that Manchester City defender Nathan Ake could be in for a tough test against Liverpool this weekend.
After helping his side beat Manchester United last weekend, the Dutchman could be in line for another big game with the Citizens this weekend as Pep Guardiola’s side take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Looking ahead to this big game between the top two sides in the league, one pundit has claimed that the City defender could be involved in a key battle.
Merson says Ake vs Salah is one to watch
In his latest column for Sportskeeda where he previewed and predicted the results for this weekend’s Premier League games, including City’s clash against Liverpool, Merson had this to say about Ake and the key battle he could be involved in during the match.
He said: “Salah versus Nathan Ake will be one to watch out for. Ake is a fantastic player, but he fell asleep against Alejandro Garnacho last week and was responsible for playing Bruno Fernandes onside for Marcus Rashford’s goal. Salah vs Ake could be a key battle.”
After being out with a hamstring injury, the Egyptian made his return to action in Thursday’s Europa League win over Sparta Prague, coming on as a substitute in the second half of Liverpool’s 5-1 win.
The winger even had a goal ruled out by VAR, which shows that it didn’t take him that long to become a dangerous goal threat again.
In terms of Salah’s efforts in the Premier League this season, the 31-year-old has scored 15 goals and provided nine assists in 21 appearances.
On top of that, the winger has made more carries into the penalty area (50), passes into the penalty area (45) and goal-creating actions (16) than any other player at Liverpool.
This makes it easy to see why Merson thinks Ake could have a tough time playing against Salah on Sunday.
However, only Rodri (15) has made more tackles in the defensive third of the pitch than Ake (13) in the City squad for this league campaign, which suggests that he has what it takes to keep the Liverpool star quiet.
