Liverpool v West Brom preview – Reds look to bounce back against in-form Baggies

Liverpool vs. West Bromwich Albion

Date: Saturday, October 26, 2013

Venue: Anfield

KO: 15.00

Liverpool will look to bounce back from their frustrating 2-2 draw away to Newcastle United last week with a strong performance at home to West Bromwich Albion this weekend. Brendan Rodgers’ men have only lost once at home all year, but the Baggies are also yet to lose away from the Hawthorns this season and stand as an intriguing opponents for the Reds in this one.

Team News:

Liverpool

Two notable absentees for the Reds will be Philippe Coutinho (shoulder) and Iago Aspas (thigh), who have created a combined 13 goal-scoring chances this year. Jose Enrique (knee) is again expected to miss out on a starting spot to Aly Cissokho at the back while Sebastian Coates (knee) remains a long-term injury for the Merseyside club.

West Bromwich Albion

Scott Sinclair will undergo a late fitness test for the Baggies to determine whether he has recovered enough from his hamstring injury. Zoltan Gera (hamstring), goalkeeper Ben Foster (ankle) and George Thorn (knee) are all long-term absentees as well.

Recent Form:

Liverpool come into this one on the back of a three game undefeated streak, but with a poor performance against a 10-man Newcastle side last week. They have showed some vulnerability in their last five Premier League fixtures actually, and haven’t kept a clean sheet since their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Anfield on September 1.

West Brom, on the other hand, have gone undefeated in their last five games and have taken points off the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal as well. All four road games this year have been extremely difficult fixtures for the Baggies, but they’ve pulled off some stunning form to finish with one win and three draws, and just two goals against them in that time as well.

Players to Watch:

Liverpool - Jordan Henderson

The combination of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge will no doubt grab the headlines once again, but watch for Jordan Henderson to play a big role here. The 23-year-old will be pertinent to the Reds’ attack given the absence of both Coutinho and Aspas, and has ranked as their third highest performer so far this season.

Averaging five defensive actions per game, and a total of 10 chances created for the season, Henderson is definitely a key aspect of this Liverpool team, and if West Brom focus too heavily on either Suarez or Sturridge, could take advantage of that in a big way.

West Bromwich Albion - Jonas Olsson

The West Brom defender will no doubt have his work cut out for him with the presence of Sturridge and Suarez, but as he’s shown so far this year, Olsson is more than capable of reducing the impact of that duo. Standing at 1.95 metres, the defender has won 100 per cent of his attempted tackles all season, he averages a team-high 13 defensive actions per game and has won a remarkable 25 of 30 aerial duels as well—giving him a real advantage of both strikers in that regard.

If he can shut down the time and space that the Liverpool strike duo love to operate in, the Baggies will go a long way to preserving their sound defensive record.

Prediction:

At home, with Suarez and Sturridge firing the way that they are, it’s almost impossible not to pick with Liverpool in this one, but I’m not completely sure they’ll get over the line here.

The Merseyside club were poor against Newcastle last week and West Brom have proven to be an even better defensive unit this season than they were last year—something that will hold them in great stead here and bring about another frustrating result for the Reds.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 West Bromwich Albion