Liverpool fans on X are perplexed to see Mohamed Salah excluded from the starting XI for their Premier League clash against Sunderland on Wednesday, December 3.It marked the second time that the Egyptian has been named on the bench in the Premier League this season after he was an unused substitute during the Reds’ 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.Arne Slot made just one alteration to his lineup that defeated West Ham, with Andy Robertson replacing Milos Kerkez at left-back. After finishing the 2024-25 season as the league’s top scorer, Salah has endured a dip in form in the current campaign, which has also coincided with Liverpool’s poor form.Prior to the match against the Hammers, Liverpool lost all their last three games across competitions with Salah in the starting XI. Following a positive result against West Ham in Salah's absence, Slot decided to start the 33-year-old from the bench again—a tactical setup that came as a surprise to some Reds supporters.One wrote:“Salah getting benched 2 games in a row 👀... I don't know what slot is cooking but we shall see.”P O P S ™ 🌿 @LuteendoLINKSalah getting benched 2 games in a row 👀... I don't know what slot is cooking but we shall seeAnother tweeted:“Salah on the bench for two games in a row that's big...The Big LFC™ @TheBigLFCLINKSalah on the bench for two games in a row that's big...A third added:“Slot actually thinks salah is the problem.. ridiculous.”Ricky @Rickydlc11LINK@JamesPearceLFC Slot actually thinks salah is the problem.. ridiculous“Think this is an early look at life after salah, think this’ll be his last season,” a fan suggested.Glorious.CC @GloriousLFCLINK@Mobyhaque1 Think this is an early look at life after salah, think this’ll be his last seasonLiverpool boss Arne Slot wary of Sunderland Arne Slot hailed Sunderland for their strong start to the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, suggesting that their results against Chelsea and Arsenal prove how formidable the newly promoted side are.The Black Cats sit sixth heading into tonight’s clash at Anfield. In October, they secured a famous 2-1 win away at Stamford Bridge before holding leaders Arsenal to a 2-2 at the Stadium of Light last month.Referencing the two matches, Slot admitted that his team will be wary of them, crediting their strong start to the manager, Reggis Le Bris. When asked about Sunderland in a press conference on Tuesday, Slot said:“Yeah, a big compliment for their manager because they brought in a lot of new players and they started off so well. I saw the game Chelsea against Arsenal on our way back home [from West Ham]. It was a very high standard game, two teams that were fighting each other and working so hard [with] all the players on the pitch. Then I was aware of the fact that Sunderland was the team that beat Chelsea in their stadium and had a draw against Arsenal. You can look at the league table by looking at how good they have done until now but after that game, knowing that Sunderland is a team that beat Chelsea and had a draw against Arsenal tells you how strong they must be.”A win for Liverpool could see them jump from ninth into the European qualification spots in the table.