The pundits are not in agreement on Liverpool this weekend, with Paul Merson and Alan Shearer expecting differing results for the Reds at Fulham.
Arne Slot’s side will make the trip to London full of confidence, having put defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle in the Champions League and Carabao Cup final behind them with victory over Everton in midweek. Despite the controversy surrounding the derby, Diogo Jota’s goal put Liverpool another step closer to the Premier League title.
And after Arsenal’s draw at Goodison Park on Saturday, the Reds are now just a maximum of 11 points away from being crowned champions. Should they win at Craven Cottage today, they could even potentially be just one win away from the title – if Mikel Arteta’s side continues to drop points.
Fulham though will provide a stern test for Liverpool, and Marco Silva’s side is arguably the Reds’ toughest assignment during the remainder of this month. That has led former Arsenal midfielder Merson to suggest the visitors may drop points.
Predicting a 1-1 draw for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “Fulham have hit a bit of a brick wall, haven’t they? I didn’t think they ever got going against Arsenal and were quite poor. Liverpool were fortunate in the Merseyside derby win over Everton and did not play very well in my opinion.
“I thought Liverpool’s goal was offside but it’s all fair in the end because Everton deserved to go down to 10 men and were lucky to have James Tarkowski on the pitch. But if I’m Arne Slot, I wouldn’t be too happy with that performance. Lately, Liverpool haven’t been hitting the heights we’re so often used to seeing them hit.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Giving his thoughts on Slot’s team, Merson added: “If Conor Bradley was fit, he would’ve started at right-back. I have no problem with Curtis Jones, I think he’s a good footballer and deserves to be on the pitch more often for Liverpool. But the problem is Antonee Robinson on that flank. If [Mohamed] Salah is unable to track back and help out, Robinson can trouble Jones a lot.
“I would pick Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz as the front three for Liverpool in this game. But I don’t think the Reds will win at Craven Cottage.”
Learn more
Former Newcastle striker Shearer though is not anticipating any sort of slip-up from the Reds. Giving his succinct prediction for Betfair, he said: “I’ll go for an away win. I like Fulham and I think that Marco Silva has done a really good job, but Liverpool will have too much for them.”
Shearer isn’t alone in thinking Liverpool will pick up another win today. His former Blackburn teammate Chris Sutton agrees, having predicted a 2-1 win for the Reds for BBC Sport.
“Fulham made things difficult for Arsenal on Tuesday and I am expecting them to do the same here because they are very capable on the counter-attack,” Sutton said.
“They might even give Liverpool another big scare here but, with what is at stake, I still think the leaders will be fully focused and get the job done again, like they did against Everton.”
