David James snubs Mohamed Salah from frontline of his Liverpool-Manchester City combined XI

Modified Apr 08, 2022 07:53 GMT

The former goalkeeper overlooked the Egyptian ace in his XI.

Former Liverpool and Manchester City goalkeeper David James has named his combined XI of the clubs ahead of their enticing clash in the Premier League on Sunday.However, the 51-year-old opted to leave out in-form Reds forward Mohamed Salah.

James, who made 277 appearances for the Merseysiders and another 100 for the Sky Blues, is keeping a close eye on their upcoming clash.

Just a point separates the two teams in the Premier League table. With just eight games remaining, City and Liverpool are headed for an epic season finale.

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In his combined XI, James left out a few marquee players, most notably Salah, who's currently leading the scoring charts in the division with 20 goals.

He instead chose January signing Luis Diaz in his attacking lineup. Regarding his front three, James said to Genting Casino as relayed by the Daily Mail:

“I’d go Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Luis Diaz upfront, so no Mo Salah."

Diaz has made an electric start to life at Merseyside. However, his Egyptian counterpart rules the roost in terms of stats and is likely to start on Sunday ahead of him.

Sterling and Foden have accounted for lo only 17 top-flight goals this season, whereas Liverpool's Diogo Jota (14) and Sadio Mane (12) both have more than them.

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In his defensive lineup, James overlooked Trent Alexander-Arnold, in another questionable choice.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a prolific campaign, making 17 assists across competitions, including 11 in the league, which is more than anyone else.

James said:

“I’d have Robertson at left-back over Joao Cancelo as he doesn’t shoot as much and therefore doesn’t give the ball away as much.

“I’d go [with] Kyle Walker and the reason being is that there’s going to be a lot of space and he’ll need to get back and defend."

Robertson has the most assists after only Alexander-Arnold (10). However, many would argue that Cancelo ranks ahead of him in terms of overall ability.