Mohamed Salah left out of Liverpool team for Premier League clash with West Ham

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Mohamed Salah left out of Liverpool team for Premier League clash with West Ham

2025-11-30 22:15 Last Updated At：22:20

LONDON (AP) — Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool's starting lineup to play West Ham on Sunday in a surprise move by coach Arne Slot.

Club great Salah was Liverpool's leading scorer on the way to a record-equaling 20th English league title last season. But the Egypt international has struggled for form this term as the Merseyside club's title defense has unravelled.

Slot named a forward line of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo for the game at the London Stadium, with Salah a substitute.

Liverpool headed into the match on the back of a run of nine losses in 12 games in all competitions. It has lost six of its last seven in the league.

Salah's decline in form has been a feature of that run as he failed to score in his last four games and managed only four goals in the league all season.

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Bayern faces a tough Leverkusen test in Bundesliga after a 6-1 win and injury concerns

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich is heading to Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga after contrasting Champions League games in midweek for the two clubs.

Bayern was in rampant form in a 6-1 win at Atalanta overshadowed by injuries in the first leg of their round-of-16 matchup, while Leverkusen had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Premier League leader Arsenal which kept its hopes alive. Bayern leads the Bundesliga by 11 points with nine games remaining.

There aren't many tricky away trips for Bayern in the Bundesliga these days, but Leverkusen is one of them. Bayern hasn't won there in the league since October 2021, though Vincent Kompany's team did get a victory in a Champions League playoff last year.

Hoffenheim is flying high in third, which would be its best finish since Julian Nagelsmann coached the team in 2017-18. Saturday's opponent Wolfsburg is having a nightmarish campaign in the relegation zone as Dieter Hecking becomes the team's third coach of the season.

In a tight Champions League qualification fight, fourth-placed Stuttgart is unbeaten in four Bundesliga games as it takes on fifth-place Leipzig, which is unbeaten in five, on Sunday.

Deniz Undav has scored in his last four Bundesliga games to take him to 15 goals for the season. Even if he's got half of Harry Kane's tally of Bundesliga goals for Bayern, it's enough for second in the standings. Undav's run of form could help him make his case for a return to the Germany squad in time for the World Cup.

Nico Schlotterbeck could be one of the most in-demand defenders on the transfer market this off-season, with no obvious progress on renewing a Borussia Dortmund contract which expires next year, though a decision to let midfielder Julian Brandt leave might free up some funds. Dortmund plays Augsburg on Sunday.

Manuel Neuer's return from a calf injury lasted just 45 minutes last week before the Bayern goalkeeping great picked up another calf injury which kept him out of Tuesday's Champions League win at Atalanta. Jonas Urbig stepped in but was hurt in a heavy collision with an opponent, so third-choice Sven Ulreich may start.

Kane has missed two games with a calf issue but is set to return, though Alphonso Davies has pulled a hamstring and Bayern said Jamal Musiala was experiencing pain related to an ankle injury from last year. It wasn't immediately clear how seriously that would affect Musiala.

Two bizarre disciplinary cases are getting German fans talking. The national soccer federation is investigating Cologne for its announcer making comments over the PA system loudly condemning refereeing decisions that went against the team.

Second-division Preussen Muenster faces a disciplinary case over a masked fan who unplugged the referee's video monitor during a penalty review against the team.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer