Verdict: Complete away objectives below 0.5
Greatest odds: 11/10
Bookmaker: 888sport
Following their first triumph away to Brentford within the Premier League period on the weekend, Liverpool shall be internet hosting Luton City at Anfield on Wednesday night as they try to maintain their place on the prime of the Premier League desk. The guests come to Anfield on the again of a disappointing dwelling defeat to Manchester United.
This sport has been introduced three days ahead from the unique schedule, as a result of Liverpool enjoying Chelsea within the Carabao Cup last on Sunday.
Liverpool
Within the early kickoff towards Brentford, Liverpool confronted a trio of accidents within the first half, dampening the temper. Nonetheless, the second half introduced a extra favorable flip of occasions for Jurgen Klopp’s aspect on the Gtech Group Stadium.
Regardless of Darwin Nunez’s opening objective, Liverpool suffered setbacks as Nunez himself, together with Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota, didn’t return for the second half as a result of damage. Nonetheless, Liverpool rallied with objectives from Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah, and Cody Gakpo, securing a convincing victory regardless of Ivan Toney’s late objective for Brentford.
The customary Klopp celebrations had been overshadowed by considerations for the injured gamers. Nonetheless, the temper shortly shifted as information of Manchester Metropolis’s failure to defeat Chelsea emerged, placing Liverpool in command of their very own future within the Premier League title race.
With a four-point lead over Manchester Metropolis, having performed a further sport, and a two-point benefit over Arsenal with equal video games performed, Liverpool are poised to keep up their place whatever the final result of Metropolis’s conflict with Brentford. Anfield stays a fortress for Liverpool, with their final Premier League dwelling defeat courting again to October 2022.
Moreover, Liverpool scored no less than twice in every of their final 5 dwelling victories. Nonetheless, they’re but to maintain a clear sheet at Anfield in 2024, conceding in seven consecutive dwelling fixtures.
Staff Information
The Liverpool medical workforce confronted a busy day on the workplace on Saturday, as Jones (shin) and Jota (knee) had been each substituted off earlier than halftime. Moreover, Nunez was pressured off at halftime as a result of discomfort.
Whereas Nunez and Jones haven’t been formally dominated out of Wednesday’s sport but, Klopp has indicated that Jota’s knee damage seems to be critical. Consequently, Mohamed Salah is about to make his first begin for the membership since New Yr’s Day.
Along with Jota, a number of different gamers stay sidelined, together with Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Joel Matip (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Dominik Szoboszlai (thigh), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee). Additionally, Alisson Becker sustained a hamstring damage in Liverpool’s last coaching session earlier than the Brentford match, resulting in Caoimhin Kelleher’s third successive Premier League begin in objective.
Luton City
Whereas Liverpool has often skilled defensive lapses amidst their total dominance, Luton City discovered themselves rueing an early defensive mistake of their Sunday encounter with Manchester United. Rasmus Hojlund capitalized on Amari’i Bell’s underhit backpass to attain for the sixth consecutive Premier League match, and his improvised chest end doubled Manchester United’s lead inside the first 10 minutes. Though Carlton Morris managed to tug one again for Luton, the newly-promoted aspect couldn’t engineer a comeback towards the 20-time English champions.
Regardless of some exceptional last-ditch defensive efforts, Manchester United may have secured a extra important victory margin. Nonetheless, Luton’s relegation fears heightened as they had been pushed beneath the relegation line following Everton’s draw with Crystal Palace.
Having ended January with three consecutive wins, Luton’s momentum has waned, with the workforce now winless of their final three fixtures. Whereas they will draw some encouragement from a three-game unbeaten run in Premier League away matches and their gritty 1-1 draw with Liverpool earlier within the season, their struggles at Anfield are prone to proceed. Luton have didn’t win in any of their earlier 14 visits to Liverpool’s iconic floor, marking their longest winless away streak towards any workforce of their skilled historical past.
Staff Information
Edwards can relate to Klopp’s challenges with enforced attacking adjustments, because the Hatters misplaced their prime scorer Elijah Adebayo to a hamstring damage throughout the warm-up on Sunday. The severity of Adebayo’s damage remained unclear instantly after the sport.
Mads Andersen (calf) and Marvelous Nakamba (knee) be part of Adebayo on the absentee record, together with captain Tom Lockyer, who expressed uncertainty about his future in aggressive play following his second distressing collapse.
January signing Daiki Hashioka is being regularly launched to motion and will not function at Anfield. Subsequently, Edwards is predicted to work with the identical group of gamers from Sunday’s defeat, with Cauley Woodrow stepping in for Adebayo up entrance.
Conclusion
Luton’s efficiency towards a potent Manchester United aspect was commendable, and the workforce has proven resilience away from dwelling in current weeks. Nonetheless, the lack of Adebayo is a major setback for them.
Consequently, Liverpool followers could be optimistic about their workforce’s possibilities of securing a clear sheet for the primary time for the reason that flip of the yr. Regardless of dealing with damage considerations, the hosts nonetheless boast sufficient attacking prowess to place stress on the Luton defence.
Verdict: Complete away objectives below 0.5
Greatest odds: 11/10
Bookmaker: 888sport
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