Gary Neville shares Liverpool concern amid Premier League title prediction

Gary Neville admits the absence of Mohamed Salah will 'damage' Liverpool but believes they can challenge for the Premier League title if they are still in the race when he returns.

Salah could miss Liverpool's next four league games after being called up to the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. His side are among the favourites to make it to the final on February 11, which could see him miss matches against Bournemouth, Chelsea, Arsenal and Burnley.

The 31-year-old once again proved his importance with a brace in Monday's 4-2 win over Newcastle to cement Liverpool as league leaders. And Neville believes that if they can stay in the race for the next month, Salah's return could see them claim a second title.

“Before the game we did a piece about Liverpool having three world-class players in Alisson [Virgil] van Dijk and Salah,” Neville told Sky Sports. “Van Dijk has been back to his best this past month or two, Liverpool’s defensive record has been good, they've kept a lot of clean sheets and Alisson is the best goalkeeper in the world.

“They've got someone who hits numbers from wide areas and is so consistent. He delivers year in, year out - it's unbelievable really. If they keep those three fit, there's a massive chance but with Salah going away for a month, it does damage them.

“They owe it to him to get through this next month still in the title race, still top of the league so they can give Mo Salah a chance to come back. Then they can have a real go at the title.”

Liverpool are not the only team to lose first-team players this month due to participation in AFCON and the Asia Cup - the latter of which will see Wataru Endo play for Japan. Every team except Manchester City is set to suffer absences, with the likes of Heung-Min Son and Takehiro Tomiyasu out for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal respectively.