Arne Slot won't repeat Mohamed Salah decision as Liverpool sent 'careful' warning
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Liverpool travel to Istanbul on Monday for their Champions League round of 16 first leg against GalatasarayOne down, one to go. Having progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in ultimately impressive fashion on Friday, Liverpool will look to take a major step towards doing likewise in the Champions League this week.The Reds fly out to Istanbul at lunchtime for the first leg of their round of 16 tie against Galatasaray aiming to build on the momentum of the win on Wolves.Appearances have been deceptive for Liverpool throughout much of this campaign, and it's easy to overlook the fact they have lost only three of their last 23 games in all competitions - and each setback, such as last Tuesday's Premier League shocker at rock-bottom Wolves, has been suffered deep into injury time.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!
And when Liverpool travelled to Galatasaray in the group stage way back in late September, their underwhelming 1-0 loss was the second of nine defeats in 12 games that cast serious doubt over the futures of many at Anfield, including Reds boss Arne Slot.Galatasaray will come up against a different beast this time around, although the personnel by and large won't be too dissimilar.Indeed, there's a possibility 10 of the players who started at RAMS Park that evening for Liverpool will once again step out against the Turkish side, provided Florian Wirtz is adjudged fit enough to return to the line-up after making a cameo from the bench at Molineux after missing the previous three games with a back problem.The goal in September came from a soft penalty conceded by Dominik Szoboszlai and converted by Victor Osimhen. The Egyptian has started all 11 games since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty at the end of January, and has contributed four goals and four assists in a period during which the Reds have netted 30 times.And with Salah having followed up ending an 11-game Premier League drought at Wolves on Tuesday with another against the same opposition three days later, it appears unlikely the 33-year-old will be rotated to the bench this time around.While Liverpool - who have never beaten a Turkish side in Istanbul - sidestepped the play-off round by finishing third in the opening Champions League stage, Galatasaray were extremely unconvincing in progressing last month against Juventus despite winning the first leg at home 5-2 and the Italians playing the majority of the return with 10 men.Juve were 3-0 ahead at the end of normal time to level the aggregate scores and only tiredness from the home team allowed Galatasaray to eventually score twice in extra time.The Turkish side go into the game on the back of a hard-earned 1-0 derby win at Besiktas on Saturday evening despite having Leroy Sane sent off shortly after the hour.
"We have to go match by match. Liverpool is a very big team but we will play at home.