Form
13/03/19 – Bayern Munich 1-3 Liverpool (UCL)
10/03/19 – Liverpool 4-2 Burnley
03/03/19 – Everton 0-0 Liverpool
27/02/19 – Liverpool 5-0 Watford
24/02/19 – Man Utd 0-0 Liverpool
Tactics
Despite flirtations with a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 this season, recently Klopp and Liverpool have reverted back to the 4-3-3 system that served them well last year in their run to the Champions League Final in Kyiv. While the formation may be the same, the approach is different with the Reds being slightly more balanced and less ferocious in their pressing due to the defensive solidity gained since the addition of Virgin Van Dijk. The front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah doesn’t need any introduction and the worry for us is that we have succumbed to far worse attacking players so far this season. The impact of Wednesday night’s exertions in Munich may affect the energy levels of the title contenders but whether we have the ability to exploit that is something else.
Battle to Watch
Lallana vs Cairney: Two of the more creative players on the pitch on Sunday will be the two central midfielders. Lallana had a bright start when Klopp first took charge but has suffered with injury for most of this and last season. However, the last few games have seen him reintroduced to the side and he was very impressive against Bournemouth last weekend. While there are more eye-catching names across the pitch, the battle to see which player can have the biggest creative difference will be intriguing.
Danger Man
Probably the most unsung member of the front three Mane has evolved this season to become arguably the most important player to Liverpool this season. While Salah is still scoring at an impressive rate, Mane has stepped up to lessen the burden on the Egyptian to become even more crucial than he was last season. Always electric on and off the ball with a great sense of anticipation to exploit space left by opposition defenders, Mane could have a very profitable afternoon down by the banks of the Thames.
Last 5 Meetings
11/11/18 – Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
12/02/14 – Fulham 2-3 Liverpool
09/11/13 – Liverpool 4-0 Fulham
12/05/13 – Fulham 1-3 Liverpool
22/12/12 – Liverpool 4-0 Fulham
Head-to-Head
Fulham wins 12
Draws 16
Liverpool wins 40
Stats & Facts
- Liverpool have won the last five meetings between the clubs, scoring 16 goals in the process and conceding three.
- Fulham have not drawn a home game with Liverpool in the last 16 meetings in all competitions since the 1-1 draw in the League Cup 3rd Round in November 1983 when Ian Rush’s equaliser cancelled out Kevin Lock’s penalty; the Whites have won five and the Reds have won 11 of the games since.
- Fulham have taken the lead three times in the last two Premier League meetings with Liverpool at Craven Cottage but ended up losing both games – the 2-3 defeat in February 2014 and the 1-3 defeat in May 2013.
- Fulham have spent the least amount of time – 279 minutes – leading Premier League games this season.
- The Cottagers have also taken the fewest amount of points (3) against current top half teams in the Premier League. In contrast, Liverpool have taken 42 points from a possible 44 in their games against teams currently in the bottom half.
Players in Common
Peter Beardsley, Stan Collymore, Lauri Dalla Valle, Steve Finnan, Danny Guthrie, Ray Houghton, Alexander Kacaniklic, Paul Konchesky, Richard Money, Danny Murphy, Sheyi Ojo, Karl Heinz Riedle, John Arne Riise, Tony Warner.
Magic Moment
As you’ll have seen elsewhere on the website, the game in 2005 following the death of Johnny Haynes was an incredibly emotional experience for everyone connected to the club. The piece on the site about is great and I can’t possibly add to that.
So it only makes sense to focus on another game two years later when Fulham welcomed Liverpool on the penultimate weekend of the season with safety still not secure. With 20 minutes to go Clint Dempsey received the ball on the right-hand side and cut in to beat two men before playing it out to the onrushing Liam Rosenior who played it back into the American’s path for him to put it into the far corner past Pepe Reina. Securing our safety and starting a long run of goals for Dempsey down in SW6.
Match Prediction
With our current of form even predicting a point for us and to become an interruption to Liverpool’s title challenge seems fanciful. We’ve had a mixture of good and bad performances against the big clubs at home this season but no points to show for it. Another depressing day out and a 3-0 win to Liverpool.
Predicted Lineup
