Image copyright: Getty Images
2021/22 English Premier League
Matchday 19
Liverpool v Leeds United
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Sunday, 26 December 2021
Kick-off is at 13h30
Liverpool will be targeting their 13th
Premier League win of the season when they welcome Leeds United to Anfield on December 26.
Jurgen Klopp's side lost ground in the title race after being held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur on December 19, which allowed Manchester City to open up a three-point gap at the summit.
The stalemate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium halted a run of six consecutive victories for the Merseyside giants, who are second in the table, three points clear of Chelsea in third.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits it is difficult preparing for the upcoming games due to the ongoing Covid situation as some teams have had to postpone their fixtures in the past fortnight, while any new positive cases could affect team selection.
"Yes, it's tough, absolutely tough," the Reds manager said. "You play against Tottenham and you saw they looked fresher in the second half than in the first half, so this is an intense period and we have to make sure we all have the same chances, the same situation pretty much.
"It's difficult in that moment, I see that, but apart from that I don't know which team I can line up because I always wait in the morning for the test results, we had absolutely no idea about the Tottenham team.
"Usually you prepare for a game and you have an idea who played last week and stuff like this, but we had absolutely no idea - and we saw the line-up and apart from Hojbjerg, it was pretty much the first line-up and they looked already fresh."
The Whites have found the going tough this term, partly due to injury having ravaged their squad. They have collected just 16 points from their opening 18 matches to sit in 16th place, recording just three wins along the way.
Marcelo Bielsa's men suffered their third straight defeat with the 4-1 reverse to Arsenal on December 18, which extended their winless streak in the league to four outings.
The bench for the clash against the Gunners was made up entirely of Under-23 players, while youngsters Joe Gelhardt and Cody Drameh were handed starts as a result of the lengthy injury list.
Image copyright: Getty Images
But Bielsa refused to lay the blame for another disappointing performance on their on-going injury problems.
"They managed to take the ball off us when we were trying to build the attack, and we couldn't. I think that's what explains the difference," he said.
"We prepare ourselves with all the players, to try and prevent those things that are not convenient for us, and to provoke the things that are convenient for us."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings):
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 3
Leeds - 0
Draws - 2
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action & heart-racing thrills when you Bet on the English Premier League, sign up now for your 100% match up to NG 100,00 Free Bet.
Click Bet Now below to register a Betway Sports Betting account for free!
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App.