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After the delay of the Merseyside derby, Liverpool will be back in Premier League action on Saturday when Fulham visit Anfield.
Even though Arne Slot's team didn't play a single Premier League match this past weekend, they still managed to have a good weekend overall. Storm Darragh only affected their fixture.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
Since both Arsenal and Manchester City lost points last week, Liverpool will have a game advantage over their championship rivals for the next two months thanks to their absence.
After a 4-3 victory against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea moved into second place, four points behind Liverpool. This is due to City's impending collapse, which has effectively ended their title hopes.
Liverpool lost 2-1 to Newcastle United last Friday, only the third time in 21 games that Slot's squad had lost, although the losses suffered by Arsenal and City were somewhat offset by their losses.
They are still undefeated in the Champions League after six games, thanks to Mohamed Salah's penalty that sealed a 1-0 victory against Girona on Tuesday, continuing the Dutch manager's perfect start.
Going back to Anfield will give them even more confidence, especially when their only loss in their past thirteen visits there was in September against Nottingham Forest.
Their defensive vulnerability has been a point of contention recently, but their clinical offense has more than made up for it. They have scored two goals or more in seven consecutive Premier League games, which is their longest-scoring run in more than three years.
With four games remaining in 2024, they are only 12 goals shy of matching their 2019 Premier League record for most goals scored in a calendar year. They have a chance to beat this record.
They extended their winning streak over Fulham to nine games in twelve Premier League matches last season, scoring seven goals in performing the league double over the Cottagers. Fulham is a club that had excellent success scoring goals against the previous season as well.
Still, Marco Silva's squad gave Liverpool a run for their money in all four of last season's encounters, including a 3-2 lead with ten minutes remaining at Anfield before losing 4-3 and a 3-2 lead in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
In 2021, Fulham had a strange run of success that included beating Liverpool at Anfield six times. However, they had never beaten the Reds in front of a home crowd.
This victory occurred before Silva arrived at the club. In his eleven managerial encounters with Liverpool, he has managed only a single victory. His dismissal from Everton came after a 2019 season in which his team lost 5-2 at Anfield.
On the other hand, on Sunday, his Fulham squad held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage, just escaping loss in the dying moments due to a video assistant referee's offside decision that disallowed Bukayo Saka's goal. This gave Liverpool a significant boost in the title fight.
That brought Fulham's point total after 15 games to 23, which is second-best in Premier League history, behind only the 25 points accumulated at this time in the 2003–04 season, when they finished ninth.
The Premier League's top half is quite crowded. Thus, Fulham are just four points behind Man City in fourth place, even though they have a respectable point total and have lost only once in their previous seven games.
Liverpool x Fulham Team News
After missing 11 games in midweek, Liverpool are finally getting some key first-team players back. Alisson returned with a clean sheet versus Girona, thanks to five saves.
In addition to Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota is back in training and might make an appearance soon.
After missing the Champions League victory owing to yellow card accumulation, Alexis Mac Allister will now serve his suspension here instead of in the derby against Everton.
If Jota is unable to return immediately, Dominik Szoboszlai will go in as a substitute, but Slot must decide between Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo in the attack.
With Calvin Bassey suspended and Joachim Andersen out for three games with a calf injury, Fulham may get their first taste of Jorge Cuenca, who has only made three substitute appearances due to injuries, in the Premier League.
Harrison Reed will miss all of 2024–25 following knee surgery, and Adama Traore started in place of the injured wide receiver Reiss Nelson last weekend as the former Arsenal player missed the match owing to a hamstring injury.
Tom Cairney will miss Tottenham's home matches against Brighton and Arsenal as he serves the last game of a three-match suspension for a straight red card he received at Spurs.
Our Predictions
Liverpool to win and over 2.5 goals @ 1.66 on Sky247.ng
Fulham, if given a chance, may be one of the division's most dangerous sides; however, Liverpool has clearly taken note of their loss to Forest and has been merciless so far in the Premier League.
Liverpool will have the chance to reclaim their seven-point advantage at the top when they play a day sooner than Chelsea. With nine victories out of twelve matches versus Fulham in the league, they certainly deserve their favorite status.
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