Sunderland 1 Leeds United 1: Lee Sobot's video verdict
Leeds United will face a tough test when they visit Premier League champions Liverpool on New Years Day.
Sunday’s deserved draw at Sunderland means the Whites are now unbeaten in their last five games and that has opened up a seven-point gap to the relegation zone ahead of the second half of the season. With the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach hitting form at such a crucial part of the campaign, there is a growing confidence Farke’s men can extend their top flight stay beyond a solitary season.
Less than a month after battling their way to a dramatic 3-3 home draw with Liverpool, the Whites will face the Reds once again on Thursday as they head to Anfield looking to pull off what would be a major upset against Arne Slot’s men. After a slow start to the season, Liverpool have shown some signs of rediscovering the form that led them to only their second Premier League title win last season and they are now looking to secure a fifth consecutive win in all competitions.
Nobody embodies their improved form more than summer signing Florian Wirtz as the £116m man has responded to criticism and questions about the limited impact he has made during the early months of his time at Anfield by finally finding some form. Ahead of Thursday’s clash with Leeds, Wirtz has provided two assists in his last five games and grabbed his first Premier League goal in a narrow home win against bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the meeting with the Whites, the former Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder has warned Leeds his side are improving after a difficult start to the season and stressed they have to look to claim three points in every game between now and the end of the campaign.
He told Liverpool’s official club website: ”I think we played a brilliant first half and every time we lost the ball we got it directly back. Everyone was working really hard, but then in the second half in the last 20 to 25 minutes we made it harder for ourselves and difficult. To be honest, I cannot explain why. We have to talk about this in training because we have to change that.
"That's the way we want to do it, we want to be there, and we want to be top of the table. It's not been an easy start for us, but I think in the last games we have been doing better and better and getting the points. We are just trying to win every game now and today we had the next three points, so it's good."
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