The Premier League enters a break for the FA Cup this weekend but before it does we have one last match in the competition on Thursday night, which sees the title chasing Liverpool hosting the impressive Sheffield United at Anfield.
I say title chasing Liverpool but in truth it was theirs to lose a long time ago. They will be eager to continue their relentless march to being crowned the best in England but the Blades will know they caused them problems in the reverse fixture and will fancy their chances here.
Liverpool
It has been a pretty chaotic month for Liverpool as they have fought on four fronts in different countries and continents but things have settled down a little now and with four days to prepare for this match, we should see something approaching their best form once again. They are perfect at home this season, despite not always being as convincing as people would have expected them to be. You can only win games of football though and they are relentless at that.
It is fair to say that Liverpool haven’t looked as strong defensively at Anfield this term but they have steamrolled sides with their vibrancy and quality in attacking areas and that has more than made up for it. The task is to continue that as they close in on the title, but when you’ve wanted something for so long, it isn’t always easy to keep up that strong approach. They are unlikely to change this far out but it is something to watch in the coming months.
Sheffield United
Given that they were favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, this has been a remarkable campaign for the Blades, and will be regardless of the end outcome. They have actually been a breath of fresh air to the division, managed by the astute Chris Wilder, who has kept last season’s squad intact and brought in snippets of quality to add to it. They are a hard-working side who have gotten the best out of themselves so far.
We have seen before in the Premier League sides do well for the first half of the campaign while they catch teams out, but opponents soon cotton on to the style which means that team struggles in the second part of the season. Sheffield United will need to keep their finger on the pulse and be prepared to come up with something new should the need arise. There has certainly been nothing wrong with their form over a busy period though.
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Team News
Liverpool have a few injury concerns to overcome here. Xherdan Shaqiri has been ruled out and he will join the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho on the sidelines for this match.
Sheffield United hope to have midfielder John Lundstram back for the contest after an ankle injury kept him out of the previous match at Manchester City. Chris Wilder will need to choose which attackers to go with but the pace of Lys Mousset could be utilised once again.
Betting
I guess the build up to this match will be all about how close Sheffield United ran Liverpool at Bramall Lane earlier in the season, with a huge rick from Dean Henderson allowing Liverpool to win 1-0 but the Reds churned up a number of chances in that contest and I don’t expect them to show such a lack of ruthlessness in this match, they rarely do in front of their own fans so this could be a long night for the Blades.
I am wary that this has been a tough run of fixtures though so there is the chance Liverpool take things easy later on in the match, especially with the Merseyside derby in the FA Cup on the horizon, so I’m reluctant to get involved in any handicaps. I do fear for Sheffield United though. Just four days ago they were chasing Manchester City shadows and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they are leggy here. I’m not sure the Blades will trouble Liverpool at the other end as keeping them out will be a tough enough ask in itself. Liverpool to win to nil looks the play to me.
Tips
WON – Back Liverpool to win to nil for a 4/10 stake at 2.15 with BetVictor
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