Liverpool vs Leeds United – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction
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Fixture: Liverpool vs Leeds United
Competition: Premier League
Kick-off: 1st January, 17:30 UK time
New Year’s Day will see Liverpool host Leeds United in what promises to be a celebratory atmosphere with both sets of fans relieved by recent results, after dismal runs that had the future of their respective managers up in the air.
Liverpool are unbeaten in seven games across all competitions and have won all three of their previous fixtures in the Premier League going into the new year, with the last game they failed to win being their visit to Elland Road, but it could be argued those results belie their actual form as much as their current status as defending champions does.
Nine-man Tottenham Hotspur and cellar-dwellers Wolves, at times made Liverpool look like the underdogs, while Brighton edged possession and hit the woodwork during their loss at Anfield.
Familiar issues, including set-pieces, remain, with the Reds having the joint-worst set-play record in Europe’s big five leagues having conceded 12 times, including from a corner against Wolves.
Arne Slot bemoaned that record, saying ‘there is not one team in the world that is minus eight in set-pieces and is still joint-fourth in the league’.
Fans can only feel for Aaron Briggs, hired initially as a first team individual development coach, and made set-piece coach mere months later after Liverpool had been unable to find a suitable candidate, who has departed the club, with a prevailing sense that he has been scapegoated.
Liverpool have also not been to string together two consistent halves of football, bar maybe the Inter Milan game at the San Siro, while also displaying a tendency to tire towards the latter halves of second halves.
There have been a few promising offshoots though, with the form of Florian Wirtz being primary amongst them. Wirtz has finally begun to show why he was brought in, finally getting an assist and a goal. The German has also displayed growing understanding with his team-mates, linking up well with Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones in particular.
Isak, who in former Dutch international Rene van der Gijp’s view, is underperforming Nick Woltemade and Viktor Gyokeres, frustratingly will have to begin from square one, just as it seemed that he was building up some steam.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, in contrast, and having done the hard yards, is reaping the benefits now, having scored in six consecutive Premier League games for Leeds United. Calvert-Lewin has not only overcome injury niggles but has also been freed up through Daniel Farke finally playing to his strengths, with the forward even touted as an option for England at the World Cup. Liverpool fans will hope that Slot can achieve a similar outcome with Isak.
Leeds, unsurprisingly, are undefeated in five games, with Calvert-Lewin’s streak beginning during the stirring but futile fightback against Manchester City in the second half, and encompasses the more fruitful comeback against Liverpool in the reverse fixture at Elland Road, where the Whites came back from 2-0, and then 3-2 down.
Farke, more so than Slot, is the manager more vindicated by his side’s recent form, with the run not only lifting Leeds six points above the relegation zone and buying themselves breathing room but also by doing so in a more convincing manner and thus engendering confidence that it can repeated. Burnley, Wolves and West Ham United have already played their corresponding fixtures, with only the Hammers managing a draw, as the other two succumbed to defeat again.
Joe Rodon is out for the fixture though and the injury poses the biggest conundrum for Farke; the Leeds boss though has said the injury to the Welshman is not as bad as feared. He has the option to ditch three at the back, which was been so rewarding for Leeds, and go back to a 4-4-2, or bring in someone like Sebastiaan Bornauw who has not had much game time.
His decision could prove to be pivotal for not only this fixture, but for the season going forward, like how the second half tactical changes at the Etihad Stadium have proven to be so far.
The pressure is certainly on Slot, and with Mohamed Salah away with Egypt and Briggs now gone, there are less places he can point at to shift blame from himself, amid one former Leeds star insisting now is a good time to face Liverpool.
Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo remain out for Liverpool while Rodon is out for Leeds. Isak and Giovanni Leoni, and Daniel James and Sean Longstaff are the longer-term absentees for either side.
Predicted Lineups
Recent Form (league)
Liverpool: WWWDD
Leeds United: DWDDW
Key Men
Liverpool
Florian Wirtz is slowly but surely rediscovering his best form. After picking up as assist against Spurs, Wirtz found the net last game against Wolves. Wirtz will be key for Liverpool and a handful for Leeds.
Jeremie Frimpong’s pace has added another dimension when the Reds attack, stretching low blocks, and adding a wide threat. Frimpong will want to keep creating, chances and space, for the likes of Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
Dominik Szoboszlai will return from suspension after missing the Wolves fixture. Szoboszlai’s return will immediately strengthen Liverpool’s midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister still looking like a shadow of his former self.
Leeds United
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has flourished, after Farke made tactical switches which many an observer had been harping on about, leaving him less isolated up front. Calvert-Lewin will continue to bully defenders with his physical game, with Konate a weak link at the heart of the Reds’ defence, as long as Farke continues playing to his strengths.
Brenden Aaronson was the man of the match against Sunderland and now has three assists in his last seven appearances. Aaronson is quietly answering his critics and the American will want to continue performing to keep the naysayers at bay.
Farke, who has won over at least one critic in Richard Keys, has Rodon’s injury to contend with. How he chooses to fill the void will play a major role in the outcome of this fixture.
Match Prediction
Slot uttered his latest faux pas, describing set-pieces as an ‘add-on’, ahead of the Wolves fixture, while simultaneously bemoaning Liverpool’s ‘negative’ set-piece record, illustrating his thinking.
Liverpool have chugged along relying upon individual brilliance and luck, but with Slot’s tactical set-up still looking rickety, the Reds are certainly not out of the woods yet. Leeds will certainly have opportunities throughout the game to test the Reds, especially through set play situations, and might be handed a gift or two from Liverpool’s error-prone defence.
The silky Wirtz though is nearing top form and was a joy to watch against Wolves. Liverpool’s individual quality is again likely to come to fore, with Wirtz enjoying a supporting cast of a growing list of team-mates finding form.
On New Year’s Day, Liverpool have won five and Leeds only once, of their last six fixtures respectively, and fans can expect a result reflective of this particular record.
Inside Futbol Score Prediction
Liverpool 2-0 Leeds United
Where To Watch?
Liverpool vs Leeds United will be broadcast live across the UK on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HDR channels with a 17:30 kick-off time.
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