Liverpool will look to bounce back from their New Year’s Day stalemate at home to Leeds United as they travel to Craven Cottage to take on mid-table Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool saw their three-match winning run come to an end on Thursday, as they played out a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to newly-promoted Leeds United.
However, Arne Slot’s men are now unbeaten in each of their previous seven Premier League contests (W4-D3-L0), cutting the gap to six points behind third-placed Aston Villa.
Fulham also saw their three-game winning run come to an end on Thursday, as they claimed a 1-1 draw away to London rivals Crystal Palace.
That result sees Marco Silva’s men positioned in 11th position in the Premier League table, just three points behind their neighbours Chelsea in fifth and six points behind their fourth-placed visitors.
How the bookies view it: Reds favourites
Liverpool are favourites to return to winning ways at Craven Cottage on Sunday, with bet365 pricing an away success at 10/11.
The same firm has Fulham at 14/5 to return to winning ways, whilst the draw is 11/4.
Head to head: Two unbeaten for the Cottagers
Despite cruising to the Premier League title last season, Fulham proved to be a bit of a bogey team for Arne Slot’s men, as they played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield before losing 3-2 at the Cottage at the beginning of April.
Players to watch: Hugo to hit the target again?
Hugo Ekiteke has made a decent start to his Liverpool career, as he has scored 11 goals across his opening 26 appearances for the Reds.
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt attacker has scored five goals and provided an assist across his previous five Premier League appearances, and the 4/5 on offer at bet365 for him to Score or Assist on Sunday appeals to me here.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Fulham will once again be without the injured Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Muniz, whilst Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze are all representing Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Liverpool will still be missing Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak through injury, whilst Mo Salah is away to AFCON.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson, Lukic, Berge, Wilson, Smith Rowe, Kevin, Jimenez
Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Wirtz, MacAllister, Szoboszlai, Ekiteke
Anything else catch the eye?
This has been a fixture full of goals in recent seasons, with the last six clashes between the two averaging 4.17 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals paying out in five of them, including in each of their past four Premier League encounters.
What’s more, Liverpool’s matches away from home in the Premier League this season have been high-scoring, with their opening nine road trips averaging 3.44 goals per game.
Over 2.5 Goals has paid out in seven (78%) of them – including in six of their previous seven – and the 4/5 on offer at bet365 for a repeat in West London on Sunday appeals to me here.
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