LIVERPOOL VS. FULHAM
| Saturday, April 11th |
Premier League | Anfield
5:30PM BST/12:30PM EST
Fulham will be licking their lips at this one, and not just because of Liverpool’s form: the Reds play on Saturday in between two of the most important remaining matches of the season, and the team’s attention will almost certainly be on the ground they need to make up against PSG in the coming week.
Liverpool come into this one in fifth place and Fulham in ninth, but the tightness of the table this season means that only five
points separate the two sides. The Reds are obviously in a worse place in terms of form and general vibes, but the Cottagers have had a mixed record in recent weeks as well. Fulham beat Burnley last time out, but previously drew away to Nottingham Forest after two straight losses against Southampton in the FA Cup and West Ham United at home in the league. They did beat Spurs 2-1 to round out their last five performances, but who exactly doesn’t beat Spurs this season (other than, of course, Liverpool)? They have won three of their last five matches in the league, unsurprisingly better domestic form than the Reds have managed.
Fulham is another team looking to complete 2025/26 without losing to Liverpool, having drawn 2-2 back in January in the home fixture. The Reds are winless in three in the Premier League against the Cottagers, having drawn two and losing one. However, Fulham have won just two of their 32 total Premier League games at Anfield, once in 2012 and once in 2021. The previous four meetings have been goal fests, with 17 total goals scored; we might expect more of the same here.
In the most worrying news for this particular iteration of Liverpool Football Club, Fulham love to score late in games, scoring 18 in the final 20 minutes of Premier League games (the same amount as the Reds, come to that). Given that Liverpool have seemed to drop off in intensity and mental acuity at around the 60-minute mark in recent weeks, Fulham’s tendency for late joy is a real concern.
Also a worry is Liverpool’s tendency to drop off players as they approach the final third in possession. Fulham have the very-familiar Harry Wilson, who loves nothing more than to score from range. Giving him time on the ball around the outside of the area is dangerous — and while it seems belittling to emphasize such simple and basic things, this season’s Liverpool have been repeatedly hurt from such positions.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitiké, Wirtz
Liverpool desperately need a win, not just because European qualification is a must, but because the swift descent to rock bottom desperately needs to stop.
Georgi Mamardashvili will start once again in goal as Alisson remains sidelined, and Arne Slot has choices in defense. It’s likely Joe Gomez will not be asked to go again should his services be required against PSG next week, so Jeremie Frimpong should see a start at right back. Given the announcement of his departure, it feels likely that Andy Robertson will start on the left. Both Frimpong and Gomez are “worries” for the manager when it comes to fitness, so we could of course see the return of out-of-position right back. As Robertson joins Mohamed Salah in leaving, you have to wonder whether these major decisions have impacted Liverpool’s season in any way, even if they by no means explain the depths of disappointment.
A midfield three of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Alexis Mac Allister seems the most likely, though Florian Wirtz could be selected to start deeper, and Curtis Jones will want minutes. Slot did not select Salah against PSG and he’s almost guaranteed a start here, alongside Hugo Ekitiké and either Florian Wirtz or Cody Gakpo. We could see some of Alexander Isak on Saturday, which would be a glint of optimism amidst a broadly grim mood.
Three straight losses on the road as the club announce ticket price increases and long-serving Liverpool greats announce that they’ll be leaving at the end of the season. It’s really hard to think of a worse time in my lifetime to be gearing up for a Liverpool match, and it’s worrying that the period under Roy Hodgson with the club’s literal existence on the line is the only mood matching moment I can think of.
Yet again you feel a win at the weekend will fix nothing on its own when it comes to the mood both inside the club and amongst the fanbase. And yet not to win is unthinkable.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “We’ve given ourselves not the best situation to be in, but as you said, Paris kept us alive so we’re still in that tie, and there are two massive, massive games in the league coming up as well and afterwards five more and hopefully a few more in the Champions League as well. But first the focus should be on Fulham and that’s where the focus is on now.”
Marco Silva: “We come from a good result [against Burnley], we come from a result where we were losing and we won the game in a good way at home. We went for the international break with three points, massive three points in my opinion, for us. And let’s hope we can start in the same way against a very, very good side – with the bad run, it’s true. They lost three games in a row in different competitions, and if it’s going to have an impact or not in the game, we don’t know. We prepare ourselves for the best Liverpool possible, and we want to be competitive like we did show last season, against them this season already [too], and let’s hope we can repeat the same type of performance.”
The Officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor Assistants: Gary Beswick, Blake Antrobus Fourth official: Oli Langford VAR: Stuart Attwell Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
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