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Can Huddersfield surprise jaded Liverpool?
This match should be a no-brainer. Liverpool have had one of their best ever starts to a PL season and sit level on points with City and Chelsea at the top of the table. By contrast, Huddersfield sit third from bottom, already 17 points behind Saturday's opponents.
Huddersfield have only scored 4 goals all season, while Liverpool have conceded just 3. Liverpool have scored 15 goals and Huddersfield have conceded 17. Liverpool are 7 points better off than at this time last season and Huddersfield are 6 points worse off.
Despite all this, the reality is that Liverpool have not actually played that well this season and have been largely dependent on strong defensive performances to eke out valuable points. They've also ridden their luck at times (look no further than Mahrez's late penalty miss in the top of the table clash with City and Sturridge's last-minute wonder goal to equalise against Chelsea). The front three are so far failing to gel in the manner that terrorised opposition defences last year.
Furthermore, Klopp's criticism of the excessive demands of international football came back to bite him this week. Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Virgil Van Dijk have all returned nursing injuries. It is possible that several of these players could be missing from tomorrow's starting line-up.
Of course, Liverpool are rightfully huge favourites for this match. But they have looked jaded, have failed to convince and have ridden their luck at times. These are the types of matches that Liverpool have occasionally struggled in (think Swansea last year when they lost 1-0 the week after beating Man City).
In short, is it just possible that the stars are aligned for a surprise result in this match also?
