Liverpool’s merciless and unrelenting schedule sees Jurgen Klopp and his team looking to put to bed an unprecedented five-match losing run at Anfield.
The Reds welcome Scott Parker and Fulham to the home of the English champions in desperate form. Three points is an absolute must.
This will be Liverpool’s third match in seven days, and a Champions League knockout bout is ahead of us in Budapest on Wednesday.
Liverpool are now in a desperate last bid to keep their rapidly diminishing top-four prospects alive, with the Reds seventh in the league standings, four points off Chelsea.
To stop the rot at Anfield, then, wouldn’t just be welcomed but is paramount. This is the final opportunity for Liverpool to uncover and sustain momentum from now until the end of the season.
Fresh blow
In typical Liverpool fashion this season, it seems that a fresh injury blow has occurred in the build-up to the weekend’s fixtures.
Klopp revealed on Friday afternoon that Ozan Kabak had sustained a knock against Chelsea and was a doubt for Fulham.
Luckily, there was some good news from the Reds boss, with Nat Phillips and Ben Davies expected to be fit in time for Sunday, having missed the midweek bout through injury.
Klopp told the club’s website: “Ozan had yesterday after the game a little problem. He has played a lot of games now and we will see if he is ready for Fulham.
“It doesn’t look like in the moment, so we will have to find solutions. Nat [Phillips], I think, will be ready and Ben [Davies] as well.”
Changes to the line-up
With changes more apparent than ever, given the recent toxic run of results, we thought to go with one of our most ambitious team predictions yet.
Indeed, it’s very likely that Klopp could still maintain a systematic approach, but we are being optimistic on this occasion.
With that said, both Phillips and Davies could come in together to make Liverpool’s 20th alternative centre-back partnership this season.
Davies, 25, has still yet to clock up his first Liverpool appearance since his deadline-day switch from Preston – albeit, this was largely due to injury.
Another player who could come into the starting XI is Diogo Jota. The Portuguese sensation made his long return from injury off the bench on Thursday and a starting berth could follow suit.
Naby Keita, too, would benefit from an opportunity in the starting XI after being snubbed against Chelsea. He is still yet to start for Liverpool since the 7-0 pre-Christmas victory at Selhurst Park, which could be a good omen for change on Sunday.
This could set up a midfield triumvirate of Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and Keita, though, Klopp could also utilise a 4-2-3-1 approach with the latter obtaining a more advanced role.
In: Phillips, Davies, Keita, Jota.
Out: Kabak, Wijnaldum, Jones, Firmino.
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