Liverpool and Fulham secured their passage through to the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend and both will be hoping to make a strong start to their EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield on Wednesday.
The Reds are unbeaten on their own patch all season, but they left it late to earn a 4-3 victory over the Cottagers in the league last month and will know they will not be able to take things lightly after Fulham beat Arsenal in the league over the festive period.
- Over 2.5 Liverpool goals
- Luis Diaz to score at any time
- Over 6.5 Liverpool corners
Reds Could Be Full Of Goals
With Liverpool safely in the knockout stages of the Europa League and three points clear at the top of the Premier League, there is talk of Jurgen Klopp’s side winning four trophies this season, the first of which could be the EFL Cup.
To stay on course, they have to get the better of Fulham over two legs in their semi-final, but they should be confident that they can see off the Londoners, especially as they have been so strong at home this season.
A goalless draw against Manchester United when the Red Devils showed little attacking intent and a 1-1 draw with Arsenal have been the only two occasions in 15 Anfield games this term that the Reds have not scored at least twice.
They are without Mo Salah, who could be away for the best part of a month with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, but they still have plenty of players who should be able to step up to the plate.
Fulham suffered a 4-3 loss at Liverpool last month despite leading in injury-time, but it has to be a concern that they have conceded three times in two subsequent trips to Newcastle and Bournemouth.
Marco Silva’s side have allowed 13 goals to slip through in their last four away games and they could be in for a difficult night, so back Liverpool to score more than twice.
Diaz Could Benefit From Salah’s Absence
If the Reds continue to flourish in Salah’s absence they will be in with a great shout of winning the Premier League, and they passed their first test without the Egyptian when they won 2-0 at Arsenal in the FA Cup on Sunday.
It took them time to get ahead against the toothless Gunners, but one player who should gain minutes on the right side of the attack in the next few weeks is Luis Diaz.
The Colombian has had personal issues to deal with over the last few months but with those out of the way, he demonstrated what an asset he could be for Jurgen Klopp as he fired home the second goal in the closing stages.
He had three shots on goal in the game at the Emirates and had five in the league match against Fulham, with four of those on target, so he may not be shy at having a go against the Cottagers and could make his mark by scoring.
Expect Plenty Of Home Corners
Liverpool are likely to do most of the attacking as they look to establish a first-leg advantage to take to Craven Cottage on 24th January and they could do most of their positive work in wide areas.
That means they should force plenty of corners and their average of 6.65 per Premier League game is bettered only by Arsenal and Manchester City.
The figure goes up to 7.6 when they are playing at Anfield and, cheered on by a vociferous Kop, they could force more than six flag-kicks in this first leg.
