Match Preview: Liverpool vs Sunderland

Venue: Anfield

Referee: Phil Dowd

Kick-off: 01: 30 AM IST, January 3rd

Liverpool return to Anfield after securing one of their easiest victories in recent memory against Queens Park Rangers this past Sunday. Luis Suarez scored a brace, followed by a header from Daniel Agger to put the R’s to the sword. The Reds also played the match at an extremely slow pace after going 3-0 ahead, presumably in order to save their energy, given the fixture congestion that the FA has seen fit to greet the Premier League sides with. Sunderland, on the other hand, lost 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The Black Cats lost the close contest despite taking the lead at the Stadium of Light. Their form has improved in the last month, having won three out the last five fixtures, including a 1-0 win at home to Manchester City. They now sit six points behind tenth placed Liverpool, and will look to increase the gap from the bottom three.

Team News

Liverpool:

The Reds have greatly improved the quality of their performances in the last month, having won five of their last seven games. They comprehensively beat Fulham 4-0 the last time they played at Anfield, and will have to absolutely beat Sunderland on Wednesday to save their fading aspirations of European football. Sitting ten points behind 4th spot, the Reds seriously need to pick themselves up to make 2013 a far better year than the horrendous 2012.

Jose Enrique injured his hamstring in the game against QPR, and could only leave the pitch with assistance. He’s expected to miss a number of weeks as a result, and Stewart Downing is likely to fill in at left-back. Martin Kelly and Fabio Borini are long term absentees, while the returns of manager Brendan Rodgers and back-up ‘keeper Brad Jones are doubtful. The duo picked up a bout of virus that’s been going around, and were sent home for the QPR game, so that the cross-infection could be prevented.

Lucas, Allen and Gerrard will likely occupy the midfield role, while Henderson stays on the bench.

Sunderland:

Sunderland have looked impressive as late, especially after a hard run of games that saw them facing the likes of City, Spurs and United. They have a poor record against the Reds, having won only three of the last twenty-three games against Liverpool, one of them being in March.

Full-back Danny Rose will return to the line-up, having missed the game against parent club Tottenham because he was ineligible to play. Defender John O’Shea is likely to miss the game, having injured his hamstring at the weekend, and Wes Brown is down with a knee injury and remains doubtful. Skipper Lee Cattermole remains a long term casualty.

Formation and line-up

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):

Reina

Johnson – Agger – Skrtel – Downing

Lucas – Allen

Suso – Gerrard – Sterling

Suarez

Sunderland (4-4-1-1):

Mignolet

Rose – Cuellar – Kigallon – Gardner

McClean – Colback – Larsson – Johnson

Sessegnon

Fletcher

Key Players

Steven Fletcher has been the go-to man for the Black Cats this season

Liverpool – Luis Suarez

It doesn’t take an expert to understand the threat of Liverpool’s top scorer – one of the best players in the league. Giving teams like a physical and defensive Stoke a torrid time, Suarez has score 13 goals in the league, the third highest. The enigmatic Uruguayan has averaged 12.3 touches per game in the opposition penalty area this season, far greater than the next highest at 7.3 touches. Suarez has also scored in three of his last four games against Sunderland, and shows no signs of slowing down. Steven Gerrard will look to drive forward from midfield, while Raheem Sterling will also be looking to make an impact.

Sunderland – Steven Fletcher

The 12-million-pound summer signing from relegated Wolves is Sunderland’s top scorer, having scored eight goals in 20 appearances. The Black Cats have also not lost a league game this season that Fletcher has scored in, and was on target the last time the sides clashed in September. As the home side will end up controlling most of the possession, the visitors will heavily rely on wingers James McClean and Adam Johnson to lead the counter attacks and provide assistance to the likes of Larsson, Sessegnon and Fletcher.

Form Guide

Liverpool – WLWLW

QPR 0-3 Liverpool

Stoke 3-1 Liverpool

Liverpool 4-0 Fulham

Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa

West Ham 2-3 Liverpool

Sunderland – LWWLW

Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham

Sunderland 1-0 Manchester City

Southampton 0-1 Sunderland

Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland

Sunderland 3-0 Reading

Interesting Facts

• Liverpool lead the head-to-head record, having registered 72 wins against Sunderland in all competitions, while the Black Cats have won 52.
• Martin O’Neill has won six of his eighteen games against Liverpool in the Premier League.
• The Black Cats have won only one of their last fifteen away games.
• Sunderland haven’t beaten Liverpool at Anfield since October 1983.
• Sunderland kept an impressive 15 clean sheets in 2012, with only City having kept more (17).

Prediction

Games between these two have usually been low scoring affairs, and expect this one to be no different. The Reds will have the upper hand due to the game being played at Anfield and the onus will be on them to win; but do not expect Sunderland to go down without a fight. Expect a close win for Liverpool to kick-off 2013.

Liverpool 2-1 Sunderland