Liverpool return to Premier League action this weekend against a struggling Fulham side, hoping to get back to winning ways after going two games without victory.
Last Saturday saw the Reds draw 1-1 away at Arsenal, before a dismal Champions League performance in Serbia saw them lose 2-0 to the fierce Red Star Belgrade.
This weekend’s opponents Fulham sit bottom of the Premier League table, in a run that has seen them lose their last six games in all competitions, the most recent a 1-0 defeat away at fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town on Monday night.
Remarkably, Slavisa Jokanovic’s team have conceded 29 league goals so far – the most in the division and over twenty the amount Liverpool have conceded so far this season (5).
Joe Bryan is likely to be the West London side’s only absentee at Anfield, as the summer arrival continues to struggle with a hamstring problem.
Previous Head-to-heads
Sunday will be the 68th encounter between the two teams. Liverpool have come out victorious in the majority of the previous fixtures (39), with Fulham winning just 12 times, leaving 16 draws.
The Cottagers did however win the first meeting back in 1912, a comfortable 3-0 victory in the FA Cup in front of 30,000 spectators at Craven Cottage.
There have been 27 games involving the two sides since the turn of the Millennium, and the Merseysiders have won 17 of them which includes the last four meetings.
The highlight, a 5-1 thrashing back in March 2006 which saw Robbie Fowler score his first goal since returning to Anfield.
Prediction
Despite sitting in third place in the table, the atmosphere and mood around Liverpool at the moment is fairly dire and stale.
Performances are becoming increasingly unconvincing, and many Kopites are currently worried with how frustrating the football is becoming to watch.
I say this most weeks, but the Reds do really need a big win here to get back on track here and they’re playing the perfect side who to put it nicely, have shipped goals for fun this season.
All the pressure though will be on Liverpool this weekend, especially given the past few days, which could play into Fulham’s hands if they can take advantage.
However, I just can’t see past all three points for Jurgen Klopp’s men this weekend.
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Shaqiri; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Liverpool 3-1 Fulham
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