Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp should rest Mohamed Salah in the coming Premier League games to keep him fresh for the Champions League semi-final against Roma, former Reds midfielder Steve McManaman has said.
The Merseyside club took another step towards finishing in the top four by beating Bournemouth 3-0 at Anfield April 14, with Salah netting his 30th league goal of the season during the game.
With Liverpool now holding a 10-point advantage over fifth-placed Chelsea, McManaman said Salah should be rested to ensure he is at his best in the Champions League semi-final.
Liverpool face Roma in the first leg of the last-four tie at Anfield April 24, with the return leg in Italy scheduled for May 2.
"We don't know how Salah will be used now because of the Champions League and because they're so many points ahead of Chelsea," McManaman was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
"There's a bigger picture of getting Liverpool into the Champions League final.
"I wouldn't play him against West Brom [next Saturday]. When you've got Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke on the bench and Roma on the Tuesday night then I'd wrap him up and save him."
Salah holds a five-goal lead over Tottenham's Harry Kane in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, with former Liverpool striker John Aldridge saying the Egyptian should be rested for good of the team.
"Salah deserves to be crowned footballer of the year and to carry off the Premier League's Golden Boot but a bigger picture has emerged that is more important than all of that now," Aldridge told the Irish Independent.
"When Klopp looks to pick his team for next Saturday's game against West Brom, he needs to make the best use of his squad and ensure that his first-choice front three are fresh and raring to go for the first leg of the Roma tie at Anfield the following Tuesday."
