Roma: AS Roma goalkeeper Alisson thinks his former teammate and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is in such rich form that he is "feared like" Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Salah left Roma for Anfield in the close-season and has enjoyed an incredible debut season at the club, scoring 43 times in all competitions thus far.

His brilliance in the Premier League has been recognised with individual awards, while he is also being suggested as a contender for the Ballon d'Or, particularly given his inspirational form in helping Liverpool to the Champions League semi-finals.

The Egyptian scored twice against his former side in the first leg of the semi-final, which Liverpool won 5-2, and Alisson thinks Salah evokes as much fear as Messi.

"It's tough," Alisson told Gazzetta Dello Sport. "He [Salah] has innate talent and now has an incredible confidence in himself, but we can stop him playing as a team. Messi is the strongest player I've played against, but now Momo [Salah] is feared like him.

"With the season he's having he can get into contention for the Ballon d'Or, or at least get among the top three, even if the games are done after the Champions League and especially after the World Cup."

Meanwhile, the hosts are hoping that an attacking line-up including Patrik Schick and Edin Dzeko will see them overturn Liverpool's first-leg lead.

Eusebio Di Francesco is expected to select Schick with Dzeko for Wednesday's return leg against Liverpool in the Champions League, as part of a more offensive 4-3-3 formation with Stephan El Shaarawy on the left wing.

Schick, 22, has scored twice in his last two Serie A matches - his first league goals for Roma - including the opener in a 4-1 win over Chievo Verona on Saturday.

Roma need to overturn a three-goal deficit and Schick, who replaced Cengiz Under for the second half at Anfield, helped inspire Roma to score twice in the 5-2 first-leg loss.

"At the end [of the first leg] we saw they are not as strong in defence as they are in attack," Schick said. "We have the chance to score three times at home. We have to go out there without fear with real fighting spirit and courage."

Di Francesco added: "Schick is the proof that when you find that mental strength and confidence, you can hit great heights regardless of the tactics." Agencies