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Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
The Reds look to retake top spot in the Premier League table as the three-way title race rumbles on.
Liverpool vs Sheffield United
| Thursday, April 4th |
Premier League | Anfield
7:30PM BST / 2:30PM EST
With a well-deserved win over Brighton at the weekend, Liverpool ascended to the top spot in the Premier League, as title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City played each other to a dull stalemate. A Thursday night kickoff means the Reds will likely have dropped down in the meantime, however, and a win over Championship bound Sheffield United will be necessary.
It’s not been a great year for the Blades, who, as things stand, possess the worst defense — both by expected and actual metrics — in Europe’s top five leagues this season, and are all but set for another spell in England’s second tier. The return of Chris Wilder saw the team triple their wins tally in four months, but with six points from their last ten games, it’s tought to claim Utd are in a patch of good form.
Injury issues abound for the Blades, who will have to make due without Chris Basham, John Egan, George Baldock and Tom Davies, while Vinicius Souza looks set to be a matchday decision, but Wilder will be able to call on top scorers Oliver McBurnie and Ben Brereton Díaz.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Kelleher; Bradley, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Díaz, Darwin, Salah
For the Reds, although he squad looks to be returning to something like full health at the right time, this match still comes too soon for some, and Caoimhín Kelleher will retain his spot in goal as Alisson inches closer to a full recovery.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will be partaking in team training next week, but remains unavailable for this one, and Conor Bradley will continue deputising at right-back. Ibrahima Konaté should be set to feature alongside Virgil van Dijk once more, while Andy Robertson’s knock picked up on international duty should have cleared up sufficiently that the Scot can reclaim his place at left-back.
In midfield, Wataru Endo could be a matchday decision after a knock suffered against Brighton at the weekend, but Curtis Jones is reportedly eligible to return, and could feature in a midfield three alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Stefan Bajcetic could return to full training next week, while Thiago does not even warrant an injury update anymore.
Up top, Diogo Jota is still a week or so way from normal training, so the only question is whether Cody Gakpo or Luis Díaz mans the left wing, alongside Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah.
What the Managers Said
Jürgen Klopp: “We have to be professional. We have to be emotional but in the right way. We have to be the best version of ourselves, we have to try to play the best football we can play and then let’s see what the outcome is.”
Chris Wilder: “We just have to be the best that we are and have got to be resolute and defend well. We are going to have to have a big night, a huge night to get a result for us and we need big performances from everyone.”
The Officials
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Assistant referees: James Mainwaring, Richard West
Fourth official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Chris Kavanagh, Mark Scholes
Kickoff is set for 7:30PM GMT/2:30PM EST tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.
