Jurgen Klopp has Liverpool dilemma no fan could have ever predicted vs Man City

It was one of those moments Liverpool fans will never forget.

A goal that will be played on Anfield highlight reels to come.

Messi-esque

When the Reds drew 2-2 against Manchester City in October, everyone watching witnessed a moment of pure genius.

In the 76th minute, Mo Salah picked up the ball surrounded by a sea of sky blue shirts. The box appeared crowded, space at a premium.

Salah thought otherwise. He only had one idea in mind - to go for goal.

If you'd have paused the game and asked the bookies to price up that the ball would end up in the back of the net, a three-legged horse to win the Grand National would have been given better odds.

Yet somehow Salah shimmied his way past a host of City defenders before curling home an effort into the far corner.

It was a splendid goal and of the highest order. It was Lionel Messi-esque.

At the time, it was Salah's ninth goal in as many games for the season. It was by far the best of them.

As Salah pranced away to celebrate, a changing of the guard was palpable.

In that moment, awestruck football fans aplenty crowned him the best player in the world.

With Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's powers waning, Salah's had increased and eclipsed the pair.

With someone operating at the level the Egyptian was - and as he has for the majority of the campaign - the Reds were always going to compete for every trophy possible.

Dip in form

But as Liverpool prepare to face Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium, not many inside Anfield that day in October could have predicted Salah's form would jettison quite as it has of late.

Granted, there were always going to be dips along the way of an arduous season fighting on four fronts.

Yet a barren streak over a sustained period as he's currently experiencing would not have been forecast by many.

Liverpool head into the biggest game of the term with a chance to go two points clear of the Premier League - but with their talisman out of sorts.

Remarkably, Salah has not scored for the Reds from open play since the 3-1 defeat of Norwich on 19 February.

His subsequent three goals have all been from the penalty spot.

And in the past seven matches, Salah has also not recorded an assist.

The 29-year-old was lacklustre in last Saturday's 2-0 win over Watford.

And for the 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat of Benfica, things scarcely went right for Salah.

According to WhoScored's player ratings, Salah was Liverpool's worst performer against the Eagles.

He racked up a score of just 6.44. That was a consequence of a pass completion percentage of 76.7 and eight unsuccessful touches.

He also spurned a golden chance in the first half and had another effort thwarted.

Klopp's put Salah's spluttering performances down to 'all the stories' around him amid well-documented ongoing contract negotiations, Egypt's failure to qualify for the World Cup and his form in general.

But it's hard to deny that Salah has been outshone by the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota in recent weeks.

Decisions to make

Jota is just eight goals behind Salah and his influence is always growing.

Diaz, meanwhile, has made a barnstorming impact no-one could have expected.

The Colombia international is proving a bargain at £50 million since arriving in January.

For plenty of Kopites, those two simply have to start against City.

Then it comes down to who takes up the third spot in the attacking triumvirate.

Mane's bagged five goals since he inspired Senegal to African Cup of Nations glory - his latest against Benfica.

And Roberto Firmino's played his way back into Klopp's selection thoughts, having been confined mainly to a support-act role during the first half of the season.

In truth, Klopp's highly likely to stick with Salah against City.

Dropping him may diminish his confidence further. It might even push him towards a departure rather than penning a new deal at his lowest Liverpool ebb.

Yet the Reds need Salah to recapture his dizzying heights if their ambitions are to be achieved.