The Saturday evening kick-off will see West Brom travel to Anfield where they will face Liverpool. After two draws between the sides last season, the Baggies will be seeking to go four matches unbeaten against the Reds for the first time since 1971 and avoid defeat at Anfield for three seasons in a row for the first time since 1967. However, Jurgen Klopp has got Liverpool playing some fantastic football of late and will be hoping to dismantle Tony Pulis’ strong defensive set-up in spite of their failure to do so last season, twice coming from behind to rescue a draw.
Recent Form
Liverpool were held by Manchester United on Monday night but maintain a superb run of form which has seen them only drop points against Tottenham and the Red Devils since defeat at Burnley in August. The Reds free-flowing attack has been prolific and dismantled teams on a weekly basis, though the past two games at Swansea and against United were less convincing. A win at Anfield on Saturday could make it nine matches unbeaten for Jurgen Klopp’s team, the best run of form since his arrival at the club last year.
West Brom have started the season in solid form, if not remarkable. Impressive last weekend in keeping the scores level against Tottenham, Tony Pulis’ side made it three consecutive draws since a convincing victory over West Ham. That said, that victory was their only win since the opening day of the season, with defeats to Bournemouth and Everton offering far less to be positive about. Their strong defensive display against Spurs will concern some Liverpool fans, and they will need to replicate that performance to take anything form Anfield on Saturday.
Predicted Line-Ups
Liverpool predicted starting XI West Brom predicted starting XI
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Daniel Sturridge is likely to be the man to miss out after his ineffective display on Monday night, with Adam Lallana returning to the starting line-up for the Reds. That will allow Phillipe Coutinho to return to his forward role with Roberto Firmino returning to a central role. Emre Can is also likely to take up the more defensive role in midfield once again.
Tony Pulis is expected to make just the one change from the side who secured an impressive draw against Tottenham last weekend, with Jonas Olsson replacing Johnny Evans in the only enforced change for the Baggies.
Injuries and Suspensions
Jurgen Klopp is expected to benefit from the returns of Adam Lallana and Georgino Wijnaldum. Lallana came on as a substitute on Monday night and is expected to be fit enough to start come Saturday evening. Georgino Wijnaldum has been in back training since missing out on the visit of Manchester United and could play a role, though he may not be risked from the start of the game. Defender Joe Gomez is now back in training but is not yet match fit and will be joined on the sidelines by Sheyi Ojo who is still overcoming a back injury picked up in pre-season.
Tony Pulis will have a fully fit squad to choose from for Saturday’s fixture, but will miss the presence of Johnny Evans. The former Manchester United central defender picked up his fifth booking of the season last weekend against Tottenham and will now be unavailable for this weekend’s clash as he serves his one match suspension.
Our Prediction
We can only see this one going one way, with Liverpool’s deadly attack they should be able to break down West Brom, who lack the quality to defend that Manchester United possessed on Monday. Whilst it could be a potential banana skin, we’re confident of a Liverpool win.
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