After beating league leaders Leicester City in their last game, Liverpool face an away trip to relegation-threatened Sunderland in the Premier League. The Reds are currently 10th in the Premier League standings, and will be desperate to get a win against Sunderland to close the gap between themselves and rivals Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs.
Meanwhile, every game is a must-win game for 19th placed Sunderland who have a paltry 12 points from 18 games and are second bottom in the Barclays Premier League table.
Jurgen Klopp’s team won their last game 1-0 against Leicester City, thanks to a goal from Christain Benteke while Sunderland are coming on the back of a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City. Liverpool can go up to seventh if they manage to get the three points while Sunderland will remain 19th in the table regardless of the result at the Stadium of Light.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD4
Live Stream: starsports.com
Date and Time: Saturday, 31 December 2015 – 01:15 IST (19:45 BST)
Venue: Stadium of Light
Team News
Sunderland
John O’Shea picked up a calf injury in the last game against Manchester City, and is set to be replaced by Wes Brown. Younes Kaboul is also out due to a hamstring injury, and will miss the game. Jack Rodwell returns to the team after serving his suspension, while former Liverpool players Sebastian Coates and Fabio Borini are expected to start.
Liverpool
Klopp will be without James Milner once again as he has not fully recovered yet, while Divock Origi pulled his hamstring in the last game, and it’s unlikely he’ll be fit for the Sunderland trip. Martin Skrtel, Danny Ings, and Joe Gomez are long term injury concerns, while Daniel Sturridge has returned to full training, but the manager will not be willing to rush him this time.
Jon Flanagan played for the U21s in a friendly against Fleetwood Town, and might take another 2-3 weeks to return to first team action. Christian Benteke might be left on the bench again, despite scoring in a 1-0 against Leicester City.
Roberto Firmino might start up front, with Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Jordon Ibe behind him. Jordan Henderson and Emre Can are likely to start in midfield while Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho are expected to retain their places in the starting XI.
Probable Lineups
Sunderland(4-2-3-1): Pantilimon; Jones, Coates, Brown, Aanholt; M’Vila, Gomez; Watmore, Toivonen, Johnson; Borini
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Emre Can, Henderson; Ibe, Coutinho, Lallana; Firmino
Form
Sunderland
Sam Allardyce’s team have won just one of their last five games in the Premier League. Their last win came against Stoke City, who were down to ten men for most of the game. Since then, they lost 3-1 against Arsenal, 1-0 at home to Watford, 3-1 away to Chelsea, and 4-1 away to Manchester City. Sam Allardyce will be hoping to change his team’s fortunes quickly if they are to avoid relegation this season.
Last 5 matches: W-L-L-L-L (Last Match: Manchester City 4-1 Sunderland)
Liverpool
Things are not too different for the visitors as they have also managed just two wins in their last 5 league games. Liverpool won 1-0 against Swansea, and 1-0 against Leicester City in their last game, but lost 2-0 to Newcastle United and 3-0 to Watford. The Reds managed a very late draw at home against West Bromwich Albion. With fierce rivals Manchester United dropping points again this week, Liverpool will be hoping to capitalize and close the gap between them.
Last 5 matches: W-L-D-L-W (Last Match: Liverpool 1-0 Leicester City)
Key Stats
- Sunderland haven’t won against Liverpool in their last 6 Premier League games.
- Sunderland have scored just 10 goals in their last 22 Premier League games against Sunderland.
- Christian Benteke has scored five goals in six Premier League appearances against Sunderland.
- Liverpool have lost their last two away games, failing to score in both occasions.
- Liverpool have managed to score just 21 goals this season, which is fewer than any side in the top half of the table.
Key Battles
Philippe Coutinho vs Yann M’Vila
Philippe Coutinho was in top form in the last game against Leicester City, and is likely to start in a central role against Sunderland. The Brazilian star has 5 goals and 3 assists to his name in the Premier League this season, and at times has been in brilliant form, but can also be inconsistent. Coutinho doesn’t shy from taking shots from distance or dribble past opponents, and M’Vila must use his experience well to keep him quiet.
M’Vila must make sure he doesn’t give Coutinho too much room around the penalty box, and close him down quickly. Coutinho has gone four games without scoring, and will be hoping to make an impact against Sunderland.
Fabio Borini vs Dejan Lovren
Former Liverpool striker Fabio Borini is expected to start tomorrow, and will be itching to get on the scoresheet to prove himself. Borini has scored two goals in the Premier League this season, and they came in the last two games against Chelsea and Manchester City. He will be up against Croatian defender Dejan Lovren, who has been impressive under new boss Jurgen Klopp.
Lovren will be hoping to continue his good form against Sunderland, and keep another clean sheet for his team, but he needs to be careful against Fabio Borini who loves scoring in big games.
Betting Odds (bet365)
Sunderland- 9/2
Draw- 29/10
Liverpool- 7/10
Prediction
Premier League has been very unpredictable this season, despite that you’d expect Liverpool to beat a struggling Sunderland side.
Sunderland 1-2 Liverpool
