Liverpool have come crashing back down to earth with back-to-back defeats after beating Manchester City and travel to Huddersfield on Tuesday.
Huddersfield
Although the Premier League debutants may have enjoyed an impressive start to their inaugural season in England’s top tier. David Wagner’s Huddersfield side have recently begun shown signs of fatigue entering the second half of the season. Coming off the back of a 1-1 draw with Championship strugglers Birmingham City in the FA Cup over the weekend, the Terriers are now without a win in their last three matches in all competitions. More worryingly for Wagner’s team, Huddersfield’s recent poor run of form has seen them drop down to 14th in the Premier League table. The Terriers have now not won a Premier League matchup in their last six attempts, now only two points adrift of the drop zone, Huddersfield now find themselves in a relegation battle.
Team News
Huddersfield midfielder Danny Williams is an injury doubt for the home side.
Williams was forced out of Saturday’s FA Cup stalemate against Birmingham with a dead leg and will be assessed, but center-half Terence Kongolo is expected to overcome a knock.
Wagner is likely to recall the likes of Aaron Mooy, Alex Pritchard, Christopher Schindler and Jonas Lossl, who did not feature at the weekend.
Liverpool
As for Liverpool, the Reds have recently slipped back to the old inconsistent ways. After becoming the first team to topple Pep Guardiola’s Premier League pacesetters, defeat at bottom-of-the-table Swansea City was followed by West Brom knocking them out of the FA Cup to emphatically end their 18-game unbeaten run. After missing out on the chance to jump up to third in the table last week, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side now find themselves in a battle to secure consecutive top-four finishes come May. Currently occupying that lucrative fourth position, the Reds now only have a two point buffer over Tottenham.
Team News
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson could be in line for his first start in over a month at Huddersfield.
Henderson played half an hour in Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to West Brom after four weeks out with a hamstring problem and comes into contention for a place in the starting XI.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is likely to field the same squad as defender Ragnar Klavan and midfielder Adam Lallana have not recovered from muscle injuries – meaning there is unlikely to be a place for striker Daniel Sturridge.
Key Factors to Consider
- Huddersfield are winless in their last 11 matches in all competitions against Liverpool (D3 L8) – last beating the Reds in November 1959 in the second tier.
- No side has scored fewer second-half goals in the Premier League this season than Huddersfield (7), with the Terriers also conceding more after the interval than any other side (30).
- The Reds are yet to lose back-to-back Premier League games under Jurgen Klopp, last doing so in September 2015 when Brendan Rodgers was in charge.
- Mohamed Salah has scored 18 Premier League goals in 23 games this season – the quickest a player has got to 20 goals in the competition for Liverpool is 27 games (Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge).
- Liverpool have seen at least three goals in 83% of their away games in the Premier League this season.
Conclusion
Although Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side may be coming off the back of two disappointing results, the Reds will be looking immediately bounce back against a struggling Huddersfield team. With the Terriers only managing to keep a single clean sheet once in their last 10 games, they will face a tough test against a Liverpool attacking trio who scored at least three goals in seven of their 12 away games. Backing Liverpool to leave West Yorkshire with three points seems like the most logical bet here.
Verdict: Liverpool win
Best Odds: 1/3
Bookmaker: Bet365
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