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Sunderland travel to Anfield on the back of a 3-2 win at home to Bournemouth for our first game in December. The reigning Premier League Champions have had a very mixed start to the season so far and will be looking to get back into the top six of the league at the expense of the Lads. Meanwhile, we will be looking to pick up points on the road against the Reds for the first time since February 2016. Here’s the key information on our hosts:
Liverpool have won two and lost three of their last five PL fixtures, beating Aston Villa at home and West Ham United away (both by two goals without reply) and losing to Nottingham Forest at home and Manchester City away (both 3-0) and Brentford away (being defeated 3-2). In all competitions, LFC have also won two and lost three of their latest five. A win in the Champions League at home to Real Madrid (1-0) and a defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven (4-1) being included. Our opponents sit eighth in the league standings, winning seven and losing six of their 13 matches and have a goal difference of zero, scoring 20 and conceding 20, giving them a points total of 21. Their most recent game was the 2-0 win against the Hammers, with Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo finding the back of the net.
THE MANAGER
47-year-old Arne Slot is currently in charge, he took the job in June 2024 to replace the outgoing Jurgen Klopp. So far, he’s managed 77 games, winning 49, drawing nine and losing 19. Slot has previously been the man in the dugout at Cambuur, AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord Rotterdam. At Feyenoord, he led them to the Eredivisie title in 2023 and a KNVB Cup in 2024 and he, of course, won the English title with his current side last season. That league title win in England saw him be awarded the LMA Manager of the Year Award and named the Premier League Manager of the Season. He’s also twice been given the Premier League Manager of the Month award, in November 2024 and August 2025. During his playing career, which he spent the entirety of in his native country of the Netherlands, he won two second tier titles with PEC Zwolle as a midfielder.
KEY PLAYERS
Brazil international Alisson Becker is their current number one, he’s played eight Premier League games this season and kept three clean sheets. Overall, Alisson has made 11 appearances in all competitions in 2025/26 but those additional games have seen no more clean sheets. Their current top goal scorer is Hugo Ekitike, he’s netted six in 19. Dominik Szboszlai is their top playmaker, with five assists in the same number of games as Ekitike. Ekitike came to the club in the last summer transfer window, being joined by the likes of striker Alexander Isak, attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and left back Milos Kerkez.
THE STADIUM
Anfield was originally the home of Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton but since 1892 it has been the home of the Reds. In 2024, the stadium’s capacity was expanded to 61,276, which now makes it the fourth largest in the top flight. One of the most famous aspects of Anfield is the “This is Anfield” sign which Jurgen Klopp once banned his players from touching until they had won a major trophy, this ban was lifted in 2019 following victory in the Champions League. Liverpool had the best home record of any team in the Premier League last season, losing just once and winning 14 out of 19 matches, bringing together a total of 46 points.
PREDICTION
Despite Liverpool’s struggles this season, at least relative to what they’ve come to expect over the last few years, I think predicting a win would be too optimistic. Isak has finally found the back of the net for them in the league, something he’s likely to build on over the next few weeks and they are still only three points off of third place. Anfield is always a difficult place to go, no matter what form the Reds find themselves in. The fact they are coming into this game on the back of a win as well will be crucial, they will be expecting maximum points from their two games this week. However, we have proven capable of going up against the very best this league has to offer, we’ve taken four points against Chelsea and Arsenal already in this campaign. If we show up, which we haven’t always done this season away from the Stadium of Light, we are capable of getting a point or at the very least scoring a goal. I’ll go for a 1-1 draw, they are overdue a stalemate I feel.