Liverpool sweat on Salah fitness

– While Liverpool hope to have Mohamed Salah (above) back alongside Sadio Mane in attack in time for today’s Champions League meeting with Genk in Belgium, their opponents have their own African forward who is a superstar in his home country.

Mbwana Ally Samatta’s 23 league goals last season helped fire the unfashionable club to the league title and a return to Europe’s leading club competition.

Samatta, 26, then became the first Tanzanian to play in the Champions League and marked the occasion by scoring on an otherwise miserable night for Genk as they lost 6-2 in Salzburg in their Group E opener.

Since then they have held Napoli to a 0-0 draw at home, a result which gives an unfancied side hope they can spring a surprise against the reigning European champions.

Genk coach Felice Mazzu said: “Some people thought it might be very difficult for us against Napoli but we could have won that game, so we will see. We will give everything at home.”

Key members of last season’s title-winning side were allowed to leave Genk. However, Samatta stayed, despite interest from around Europe, including a reported €10 million (R163 million) offer from Dynamo Moscow.

“He is a complete forward, good with both feet, technical, skilful,” said Mazzu in an interview with French magazine So Foot.

The former Simba and TP Mazembe star took the Ebony Shoe for the best player of African origin in Belgium last season. He described winning the league as “maybe the best night of my life so far”.

Since then the player nicknamed “Samagoal” has scored once, for Tanzania at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He has five league goals this season, albeit none since late August.

He will hope to start afresh, having used the recent international break to get married.

Many fans will be eager to see how he gets on against Liverpool as Genk look to end a dreadful run of 14 games without a win in the competition.

The Anfield club are looking to end a streak of their own here – they have lost their last four away matches in the group stage, including a 2-0 defeat at Napoli last month.

A dramatic 4-3 win over Salzburg has since kick-started their campaign, but Juergen Klopp’s side saw their perfect start to the Premier League season end last Sunday in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. –

Genk