The Reds picked up a crucial late point at the Etihad courtesy of Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s brilliant strike, keeping the pace with the league leaders as we head towards the festive period.
It was a narrow victory in this fixture back in May and Jurgen Klopp will be hopeful of a less stressful afternoon on this occasion. Let’s take a look at the 10 key things you will need to know ahead of the next Premier League clash.
1. Team news
The manager revealed that “nobody got injured” during Thursday’s 4-0 win over LASK in the Europa League, meaning that the list of absentees remains as it was for this fixture. Conor Bradley is back in contention having been out since the summer with a back injury, while Thiago, Andy Robertson, Diogo Jota, Alisson and Stefan Bajcetic remain out for the foreseeable.
2. Fulham form Fulham were contentious 3-2 winners over Wolves at the start of the week (more on that later!), but picked up just one point from their previous four league outings. They sit 14th in the league as things stand, but remain a comfortable 10 points above the drop courtesy of Everton‘s recent points deduction for financial breaches.
3. Mixed fortunes in this fixture
Fulham are among the few teams to have taken all three points from Anfield under Klopp, although we all know the six straight home defeats during the covid-hit 2020/21 season don’t count! The Reds have won just one of their last four encounters with Sunday’s visitors, and were required to hold on for a 1-0 win against Marco Silva’s side in May.
Overall, the manager has three wins, two draws and a home defeat to his name against Fulham and will be keen to improve upon record that this weekend.
4. Not on UK television… again October’s Merseyside derby remains the only Anfield Premier League game to have been broadcast live in the UK so far this season, with Man United‘s upcoming visit naturally set to be the next one.
5. Midfield conundrum?
The manager has a wealth of quality options in the middle of the park thanks to Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones‘ return to fitness. Jones was preferred away at Man City, but Gravenberch’s impressive cameo off the bench has placed him firmly in the frame for what would be his fourth league start.
Harvey Elliott will also feel he deserves to be in the conversation having shone whenever called upon as a substitute this season.
6. Double century for Mo? Mohamed Salah is just one goal away from notching 200 goals for the club in all competitions after his penalty against LASK and will fancy his chances of reaching that milestone this weekend.
His rise up Liverpool’s all-time list of goalscorers shows no signs of slowing down, with Billy Liddell next in his sights on 228.
He’s pretty good, isn’t he? 7. 11 in a row?
Liverpool have been flawless at home so far this season, winning all 10 games at Anfield by a margin of at least two goals.
It is only the second time in top-flight history that a team have managed such a run, with Wolves registering 12 successive victories by two or more goals back in 1938/39. The Reds can go a step closer to equalling that tally with a big win over Fulham, but Silva’s side will have other ideas.
8. Tight at the top The Gunners sit on top of the pile with 30 points from the first 13 games, while Man City linger a point behind on 29. Ourselves and Aston Villa are in reach on 28, while Tottenham appear to have fallen off a cliff and now find themselves four points back after their impressive start.
9. The return of Tierney Paul Tierney has been appointed as the VAR for Sunday’s clash, in what will be his first Liverpool fixture since the visit of Brentford back in November. He has plenty of history with the Liverpool boss, but the on-pitch referee isn’t an ideal choice either!
Stuart Attwell will take charge of proceedings at Anfield, having been at the centre of controversy from the VAR room during Wolves‘ 3-2 defeat to this weekend’s opponents on Monday.
10. Keep up with the action with us! As mentioned earlier, the game won’t be shown on UK television so the best possible place to keep up with the contest as it’s happening is with TIA’s matchday liveblog!
Liverpool are back in Premier League action this weekend as they embark on a run of three winnable ahead of Man United‘s visit later in the month.
It has been an inconsistent start to the season for the visitors, having secured a top-half finish in 2022/23.
Sunday’s clash will be yet another home game not to be shown on television in the UK, with Crystal Palace‘s trip to West Ham getting the nod from Sky Sports instead.
Despite being a third of the way through the campaign, three teams remain within touching distance of leaders Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp accused referee Paul Tierney, second right, of unprofessionalism after Liverpool’s draw with Tottenham at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA)
Deep breath.
